RWBY: Checkmate
by Tardis2898
Summary: Its been five months since the fall of Beacon. Team RNJR has set out for Haven and are determined to bring Cinder to justice. Little do they know that they are to be apart of something much bigger, Salem's grand chess game. Team RNJR will soon discover the full extent of Salem's power and influence in the world of Remnant as they face her many pawns. Arkos/Whiterose pairings.
1. A Journey Begins

Chapter 1

Salem looked down at the sight before her. She had a chess board laid out on large table in the middle of a room. However, this was not ordinary chess game, no, this game had a different set of rules and represented much more than a simple game. It represented the very battle between the light and darkness. She looked over the pieces and saw their represented losses. On the black side, it was missing three pawns, a bishop, and a rook. The pawns, like all the chess pieces on the table had symbols on them. One of them was that of the White Fang wrapped around the piece. The symbol curving with the pawn's shape. Another pawn had the symbol of Junior's hired thugs while they worked for Torchwick. And the final pawn resemble that of the Dragon Grimm that Ruby had froze. The rook held Adam's symbol painted in red. And the bishop had the deceased Torchwick's symbol. A small smile spread across her face as she looked over to the white side and the pieces they had lost. Sitting next to the board was a rook, a knight, a bishop, and a queen and king, and all of the pawns. The pawns were various things such as Penny, Team SSSN, Atlas, Beacon, and other mere pawns in Ozpin's arsenal. The rook had Yang's yellow flaming heart symbol printed onto the white piece. Next to it sat the knight with Blake's symbol painted across it. The bishop was next with Weiss's blue snowflake plastered across it. The final power piece that was now on the side lines and no longer within her game was a Queen piece, with the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Niko's spear and shield family seal painted on the fallen piece.

"Oh Ozpin, you senile old fool, you placed all your hope in defeating me into these eight children, and look at what has happened," said Salem as she continued to examine the board. She eyed the final white piece that had been lost, the king piece, with Ozpin's symbol painted across it in green. It did not take an expert of the game to be able to see that black was winning. Salem looked over the remaining pieces on the board. There was a rook with Nora's hammer, a bishop with Ren's lotus flower, a knight with Jaune's arches, and another queen with Ruby's rose.

"You did not have weak pieces Ozpin, no you chose very powerful ones indeed, you have two queens after all. And I imagine that they will take out some of my pieces now that they are on the offensive. But power is useless if it is not known how to use it properly, soon, they shall fall just like their friends." Salem now looked over at her side and saw all her pieces. She still held a rook, a bishop, a knight, five pawns, and her queen. Salem laughed as she looked down at her game of chess. She turned around and walked towards her dungeon, and towards her two new prisoners.

* * *

Pyrrha's eyes slowly started to open as she began to take in her surroundings. She was in a medium sized room that had a red tint to the stoney walls surrounding her. She noticed only one door infront of her with bars. _Am I in a prison cell?_ the young Amazon thought.  
"Pyrrha, you're awake!" cried a voice next to her. Pyrrha turned to her left and saw Ozpin sitting about ten feet away from her with a chain around his left foot that connected to the wall.

"Headmaster Ozpin!" cried Pyrrha as she quickly tried to rush over towards the teacher. She made it about half way when she came to an abrupt stop. She looked down and saw that she too had a chain around left leg as well. She tried to activate her semblance only to discover she couldn't.

"What the heck?" she asked as she tried again.

"Don't waste your energy Pyrrha, these chains are draining out Aura's abilities. You won't be able to break the chains," said Ozpin as he saw her struggle.

Pyrrha turned towards Ozpin and asked, "Where are we? How did we get here?" Ozpin sighed and asked, "whats the last thing you remember Pyrrha?" She thought for a moment and said, "I was fighting Cinder, and then she, she, s-she shot m-me in the che-est. Oh m-my Oum, are w-we de-dead?" asked Pyrrha as tears began to welt up in her eyes and shake.

"Yes and no. Just before we would have died Cinder used her new Maiden powers to teleport us to the land of the dead. So for all intensive purposes we are dead, but we could still walk amoungst the living if there were a way out," said Ozpin.

"And as I'm sure you already know Ozpin, there is no way out," said a voice by the doorway. Pyrrha and Ozpin jerked their heads towards the source to see a snow white women with burning red eyes and black veins running across her body.

"What the hell are you!" shreaked Pyrrha in fear.

"Pyrrha, that is Salem, Mistress of the Grimm," said Ozpin as he glared at Salem.

"Mistress of the Grimm?" asked Pyrrha.

"Yes child, I am the mistress of the Grimm. I am where they originate from, and I am the one who has decided to keep you alive," said Salem as she looked at Pyrrha.

"W-why" asked Pyrrha fearfully.

"Snacks," said Salem with a small smirk.

"W-what!" cried Pyrrha.

"You see child, just like my Grimm, I have no natural Aura, so I am required to feed off others. And the best way to get to someones Aura is through emotion."

"Wait, but I thought these chains prevented us from having our Aura," asked Pyrrha.

"No Pyrrha, you misunderstood, we can't use out Aura with these chains, we still have it, we just can access it," said Ozpin as Pyrrha started to understand.

"But why us?" asked Pyrrha.

"Simple my dear, you and Ozpin were the two big threats, so not only did I neutralize you and stop the threat you posed. But you Miss Nikos have a plethora of the most delicious emotions for me to consume," said Salem.

"What emotions might those be?" asked Ozpin as he looked over at a confused Pyrrha.

"Loss, misery, and guilt. That last one is why I chose to keep you alive Ozpin, as your guilt will only continue to grow as you watch them," said Salem.

"Watch them? Watch wh- JAUNE!" cried Pyrrha as her eyes were open wide as she made the realization.

"Yes my dear, your little boyfriend and his friends have decided to try and avenge you by going on a little mission to try and find my Fall Maiden. And you both will get to see them suffer," said Salem as she lifted her hands up and conjured an orb in the center of the room. The blue flames slowly opened up and Pyrrha could see Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Ruby walking down a snowy path. Pyrrha was on her knees, tears streaming out of her eyes as she watched Jaune, the boy she loved, traveling to try and avenge her and knew the hardships he would face all because of her.

"J-Jaune, I-I-I'm so so-sorry, i-its all my fault, i-its all my fault you h-have to do this," she sobbed as a green flame started to come off her. Salem inhaled deeply as the flame flew into her nostrils.

"Ah, yes Miss Nikos, I will enjoy having you here and feeding off your misery. Enjoy the show," said Salem as she walked away from the two, with Pyrrha still sobbing glowing a beautiful luminescent green as she mourned all that she had done, and will do to Jaune.

* * *

"So should we camp here for the night?" asked Jaune as he and the others approached a clearing.

"Yeah, we should call it a day," said Ruby as she stopped next to the Blonde Knight. She and the others unloaded their gear, with Jaune and Ruby pitching the tents, Nora grabbing some fire wood, and Ren starting a campfire. After he got the fire going, Ren took out some of his cooking pots and started to prepare the team some dinner. Nora returned about fifteen minutes later carrying an almost cartoonish amount of fire wood in her arms. Jaune put the sleeping bags in their two tents, Ruby and Nora's in the girls tent, and his and Ren in the guys.

"I think I heard a stream when we came in, I gonna go see if I can find it," said Jaune as he grabbed Crocea Mors.

"I'll join you," said Ruby as she quickly grabbed Cresent Rose.

"Just be careful you two, I'll have dinner ready in about twenty minutes," said Ren as he stirred the contents within a pot that was dangling over the fire.

"Will do, come on Ruby," said Jaune as he and Ruby started to walk towards the stream. As they walked, multiple thoughts were buzzing through Ruby's head, _Man a lot sure has changed._ She was going over the events of the past month after she and what was left of team JNPR left for Haven. _I still hope Jaune will be okay, he gave up being a leader too easily,_ thought Ruby as she flashed back to when Jaune told her he didn't think he was fit to lead after Pyrrha died. _Poor guy_. Ruby looked over to Jaune and was quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she saw some tears streaming down his cheek.  
"Jaune! Are you okay?" asked Ruby nervously.

"What? Oh, yeah I'll be fine Ruby, sorry for bugging you its just, its just, *sigh* I was thinking about her again," said Jaune as he hung his head down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Ruby.

"No, its, its nothing Ruby, lets just find the stream and get back to the others," said Jaune as he started to speed up. _No, not this time Jaune_ thought Ruby as she activated her semblance and ran right in front of Jaune.

"Jaune sit down, we need to talk about this," said Ruby as she stood firm in front of him.

"Ruby please, I really don't want to," said Jaune. Ruby looked into his eyes and saw the spark that was there four months ago was gone. That drive and enthusiasm that brought everyone up had disappeared. Jaune looked like he was dead inside. Ruby couldn't take it anymore, "J-Jaune, p-please, you're scaring me! You don't have a-any motivation anymore, and y-you seem like you're about to lose the will to live! I-I can't do this alone Jaune, I n-n-need you!" cried Ruby as tears streamed down her face and she quickly rushed and hugged Jaune. He was like the big brother she never had and she couldn't stand to see him in this depressed state.

Jaune's eyes lit up at Ruby's sudden burst of emotion, _Look at what you've done Jaune, you made her cry!_  
"Ruby, I-I'm s-sorry, its just, I-I don't know wha-at to d-do without her!" cried Jaune as he let all of the emotions he was holding in the past four months out. "I-its my f-fault sh-shes gone! I-if I could h-have just been a l-little fa-faster or stronger, sh-she might still be with u-us. But I couldn't save her, the most i-important girl i-in my life and I cou-couldn't save her. I failed her just like I fail everything else. I-it should have been me Ruby, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!" Jaune screamed as he let it all out.

Ruby cried even harder now, "Do-don't say that Jaune! Y-you aren't a f-f-failure! Look at what you accomplished a-at Beacon! Yo-you've come so far and done s-so much!" said Ruby as she hugged Jaune tighter.

"T-then why did s-she die Ruby! I-I don't even think I should be here with you guys, I'll just drag you down," said Jaune a he fell to his knees.

"Jaune, I," started Ruby before Jaune cut her off.

"Ruby, after she died, when I went home, I tried to kill myself," said Jaune as he stared at the ground, not having the courage to look Ruby in the eye.

"W-what?!" cried Ruby as he eyes were as wide as they possibly could be.

"Its true Ruby, I-I tried to end it all, and I couldn't even do that, just another failure to add to my name." said Jaune. The two suddenly heard a large wail and turned to see Nora and Ren standing about twenty feet back listening to their conversation. Nora was crying and Ren to had some tears coming from his eyes.  
"Jaune," cried Nora as she ran and tackled the boy giving him a crushing bear hug.

"D-don't you e-ever say that! Your one of the most important people in my life, a-a-and I can't lose another one Jaune, I can't!" cried Nora as she hugged Jaune tighter.

"Nora, can't breath," wheezed Jaune as Nora squeezed the air out of him. Ren came over and put a hand on her should telling her to get off, as soon as she did Ren embraced Jaune into a hug of his own.

"J-Jaune, please don't talk like that, you're my brother, and I can't stand the thought of loosing you to." said Ren. He looked Jaune in the eyes and said, "Don't you ever say you're a failure. You may not be the strongest or fastest, but you have the most heart, and the kindest soul I've ever met."

"Then why couldn't I save her Ren? I failed her just like I fail at everything " asked Jaune as he buried his head into Ren's shoulder and cried.

"Are you kidding me Jaune! Look at what you did! You stood up to Cardin when none of us had the courage to and even saved his life despite what he did to you! You killed and Ursa Major with one hit! None of us could do that! You saved me and my team when you trusted your gut and came to Vale during the breach! You lead your team to victory in the Vytal Tournament! At the begging of the year you couldn't even hold a sword right, yet you ended up beating most of us in combat class by the end of the year! You have over come such adversity time and time again, and with a smile on your face! Jaune, you're not just a knight in shinning armor. You're our knight, without you, none of us would be here now! You saved me and my team's lives, and Ren and Nora's! You are not a failure! If anyone is a failure, its me! My whole team broke up because I couldn't motivate them to stay together! Look at your team, they stayed together to the very end! You're the best leader I've ever met and will always be better then me. A-and besides, I was there when Cinder shot Pyrrha, a-and I couldn't save her, if anyone failed her Jaune, its me!" cried Ruby as she joined Ren in hugging Jaune.

"Guys I-" started Jaune before Nora cut him off.

"Jaune, you keep us together, you managed to give me and Ren the first ever real friends we've had in years! You didn't get us expelled from my crazy antics and managed to keep us together, and use the best of our abilities. Jaune, you are the bravest man I have ever met. Greatness isn't measured in our physical strengths, but rather how strong our hearts and bravery are! You are the strongest out of all of us, look at yourself. You lost the most but wanted to continue on still, not for your own personal sake, but for ours. You're the one that called me Ren and Ruby and got us out here! So don't you dare say you failed Pyrrha Jaune, you did the most for her than anyone else, and I will be eternally grateful for all you did for me and Ren!" cried Nora as she now joined the hug. Jaune was surprised by the sudden wisdom that Nora provided as oppose to the quirky and crazy self she normally is.

"I-I'm sorry you guys," said Jaune as he cried with the others.

"Its okay Jaune, we forgive you, but don't you ever leave us Jaune, I-I don't know what we would do with out you" said Ruby.

"Don't worry Ruby, I'm here to stay now, I'm here to stay," said Jaune as he and the other stayed there and continued to cry for another twenty minutes.

* * *

The four teens returned to their campfire after letting it all out back in the woods and ate the soup Ren had prepared. As they ate, Jaune looked at the three and said, "Guys, I just want to say thank you. I've been in that abyss for the past few months, and you guys helped finally pull me out of it. I haven't felt this good since Beacon, again just, thank you. You just saved me from myself and I don't know how I'll ever repay you guys."

The three smile and Ren said, "You don't owe us anything Jaune, its just nice to have our friend back." Jaune smiled and slurped up the last bit of his soup.

"So Jaune, do you still want me to be leader?" asked Ruby.

Jaune chuckled and said, "I still want you to act like one, but we can do it together. Like Ren said, I'm back, and I'm ready to make Cinder pay."

"So guys I've been wondering," chirped Nora. They looked over to her, "What are we gonna call out team name now?"

"Huh, I hadn't thought about that," said Jaune.

"Aren't you guys just called JNR now?" asked Ruby.

Jaune looked over at Ruby and said, "NO way Ruby, you're apart of our team now." Ruby looked over at Jaune, eyes gleaming, "You guys will really let me on your team?" Ren Nora and Jaune looked at eachother almost flabbergasted that she asked that question.

"Ruby did you really think we wouldn't let you join?!" asked a shocked Nora. Ruby had a slight blush and looked at the ground, "Uh, y-yeah I guess I did."

Jaune got up and put his arm around Ruby, "Whether you like it or not we're family Ruby, and that includes you."

"Thanks Jaune," said Ruby as she pulled him into a hug.

"RNJR" said Ren.

"What?" asked the other three in unison.

"RNJR, thats what we should call ourselves. Team RNJR," said Ren calmly as he slurped more of his soup.

"RNJR huh, I like it!" said Jaune as he got up and pulled his sword out and put it in front of him, "To Team RNJR!" he cried triumphantly. Ruby figured out where he was going with this and pulled out her weapon and put it on top of Jaune's. "Team RNJR!" Ren and Nora quickly followed and also pulled out their weapons and cried out, "Team RNJR!" Ruby looked at her new team smiling that even though her team was disbanded, she still had these friends to count on. "Look out Cinder Fall, because you're dealing with a whole new group now that we're reunited again. And we will defeat you!" The others cheered out at her proclamation as the fire was relite in all of them, and they were going to see that they would bring their fallen friends justice.

* * *

 **So thats Chapter 1! This is a story that I have been wanting to do for a really long time and I finally have the chance to do it. I'll try to do updates every two to three weeks given I have not only work, but my Gravity Falls story to work on, and I plan to interchange between the two. But yeah, so thats the first chapter, if there are any questions feel free to ask them in the comments as I will answer any I get in upload after I get it. So don't be afraid to leave a review, or follow and favorite for that matter.**


	2. The Weary Dragon

Chapter 2

Ruby dashed forward and pointed Crescent Rose at the ground and blasted herself up, propelling her towards the charging Beowolf. She quickly spun forward and brought the scythe down and spit clean through the Beowolf's head, splitting it in two. She quickly whirled around and shot two more Grimm, killing them with a single shot. She looked over to see Nora bringing her hammer down, squishing the Creep underneath. She quickly fired a grenade while Magnhild still rest on the ground, sending her into a back flip where she she quickly converted the hammer to its grenade launcher form and fired at a small group of Grimm, sending them flying.

Ruby looked to her left to see Ren dashing towards an Ursa as the beast got on its hind legs to try and size Ren up. Ren quickly slid under and between its legs using Stormflower's blades to slash the creatures legs. The Ursa fell forward, losing the ability to use it's hind legs after Ren slashed the muscles within them. Ren calmly got up and approached the now wounded Grimm, and killed it with three shots to the head. Ruby quickly brought her scythe up and slashed a charging Grimm across the chest. She quickly stopped the blades upward moment and brought it back down, slashing the Grimm across the chest again, killing it.

She risked a glance over her shoulder to see Jaune facing off against a Deathstalker. The scorpion Grimm brought it's stinger down towards Jaune. Jaune raised his shield and deflected to the right and used his momentum to spin around and use his sword to cut the tip of the stinger off. The Deathstalker screeched in pain, but Jaune ignored it and lunged forward and stabbed the Grimm in the eye. The creature tried to knock Jaune away by bringing its right claw to blow the knight away. Jaune just lifted his shield and blocked the strike with ease. He ripped his sword out and slashed the Grimm across the face. The Deathstalker retreated back and tried to regain its barrings. It didn't get far as Jaune ran and jumped on top of the beast's head. It tried to knock him of but missed twice before brought his sword down into the Grimm's partially exposed head. It went limp and Jaune hoped of and engaged another Beowolf.

Ruby quickly looked over and saw that her decision to look at Jaune was poor as the Beowolf Alpha, the pack leader was in midswing. Ruby had no time to react as the beast connected its blow with the young huntress and sent her flying back. She lost her grip on Crescent Rose as it was launched away from her. Ren looked over to see the young huntress getting hurled and quickly started firing on the Alpha. It forgot Ruby and quickly charge towards Ren. Ren continued to fire for a few moments before he guns suddenly stopped. _Damn, out of ammo_ thought Ren as the Grimm quickly approached him. Ren got into a fighting stance ready to attempt to take on the beast with his blades. The Beowolf brought its claws up and swung them down onto Ren. The green ninja brought one of his blades up to catch the beast's attack, unfortunately he reacted too late to the other paw and it knocked Ren to the side. The boy tumbled before he abruptly hit a tree and felt as his Aura reserve ran out. _This is bad_ thought Ren as he slowly stood up with no aura to protect any more attacks. _One good hit and I'm done for_. The boy looked up and saw as the Alpha set its sights on Ren. Ren again got into a fighting stance ready to make one final stand. As the beast charged at him, a silver object suddenly flew at it and embedded itself in the Wolf's chest. The creature cried in pain and the to looked at the source to see Jaune standing with just his shield in hand. He had thrown his sword and the beast to try and distract it from Ren. It worked as it now barreled towards Jaune, sword still in chest. Jaune just smirked and waited until the Grimm was close enough for the second part of his plan to work.

When the Grimm was a mere ten feet away Jaune yelled "Now!" and ducked down for Ruby, who had been standing twenty yards behind Jaune to activate her semblance and rush towards the creature. She used Jaune as a step and jumped off of him towards the creature at great speed. She put her feet first and hit the bottom on Jaune's sword. The sword was forced through the Grimm and pierced it's heart. The creature quickly slumped forward and fell to the ground, dead. The remaining Grimm in the area fled in fear after their pack leader died.

"I knew that would work, Ren you alright?" asked Jaune as he went to retrieve his sword from the Grimm's chest.

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine, just give me ten minutes," said Ren as he slowly regained his composure. Ruby went and retrieved her weapon and compacted it back down. After Ren had gained back some of his aura, him and the others decided to all sit down to regain their strength.

"Thats the fourth pack we've run into this week," complained Nora as she threw her arms up dramatically and fell onto her back.

"Yeah, the Grimm must still be attracted to Vale," thought Ruby as she leaned back against a tree.

"How much ammunition do you guys have left," asked Jaune. Ruby and Nora started to look through their bags to count how much they still had. Ren did not need to search through his bag as he already knew the answer. "I'm out, I used my last clips just before this fight."

"Huh, we'll have to restock in the next village we reach," said Jaune.

"I've got about three clips left," said Ruby as she finished counting.

"I've got nine grenades left," said Nora.

"I see, lets try to avoid any more fights if we can until we reach the next village, according to my map we should be there in about... two days," said Jaune as he studied the map he packed.

"Sounds like a plan to me, you ready to keep moving Ren?" asked Ruby as she stood up.

"Yeah, lets move." replied Ren as he and Nora both got up. Jaune quickly followed and the group started to make their way down the trail and towards the next village.

* * *

It was about seven o'clock in Patch and Yang was at home doing what she normally did these days. Sitting on her couch and watching T.V. The months following the fall of Beacon had not been kind to the Brawler. After she lost her arm she lost any real motivation to do anything. That lack of motivation only intensified after Ruby left. She can still remember the day her little sister asked her to join her crusade,

 _"Yang, you awake?" asked Ruby. Yang was just blankly staring out of the window at the woods._

 _"Yeah, come on in Ruby," she said not turning to face her little sister. Ruby meekly walked in and approached her sister. "So Yang, how you doing today?" asked Ruby._

 _Yang didn't give her a response. "Well thought I'd try anyway, haha," Ruby laughed weakly._

 _"Ruby what do you want?" asked Yang who was still only staring out of the window._

 _"Well, me and the whats left of JNPR are planning on going after Cinder, and I was wonderi-," stated Ruby before Yang abruptly cut her off._

 _"No."_

 _"Oh come on Yang! Please! We could rea-" started Ruby before Yang cut her off again._

 _"No Ruby I'm not going to go," said Yang firmly._

 _"Why?" asked Ruby._

 _"Ruby don't you get it, theres no point. Cinder won. Trying to stop her would be pointless." said Yang who had still yet to look at Ruby and only continued to stare out the window._

 _"Yang please I-" started Ruby again before she was again cut off by Yang._

 _"I said no Ruby."_

 _Ruby just stared down at her feet. "Fine," she said as she started to walk towards the door, just before she left though, she said one final thing, "She only wins if we let her win. You can stay her and mope if you want Yang, but I'm going to go and bring that villain to justice, like a true Hunter should." Tears started to form in her eyes. Yang again just did not respond and only continued to stare out the window  
_  
Yang just sat motionless on the couch watching T.V. She was flipping through the channels with her new arm. She had got it about two weeks ago after her Dad called in a favor someone owed him in the Atlas military after communication had been restored. But even after she got the arm, she still had no drive. To her it was just a constant remainder of her failures. Truth be told she hated it, but knew that she needed it to function like a normal person. Still hadn't left her house since the fall of Beacon and it was starting to take its toll physically. No longer did she have a sleek and athletic figure. She wasn't fat, no quite the opposite. She had stopped working out and her muscle mass started to dwindle. She had actually lost fifteen pounds because she stopped working out and barley ate. The more this went on, the more weak she felt, and the more weak she felt, the less motivation she had to do anything. It was a vicious cycle, but Yang became accustomed to it. She continued to just aimlessly watch T.V. not quite knowing just what she was going to do with her life.

She was watching the news when a weather bulletin came on, "It would appear that we have a large rain storm moving in from Mistral and will bring strong winds and heavy rains to Vale for the next few days. Citizens are advised to try and stay inside if at all possible during the storm as it has been classified as a level 4 storm." said the Weather man as he showed a large storm front moving from Mistral over Vale covering the whole kingdom.

 _Big storm huh? Whatever, it can't be that bad can it? Those weather men always exaggerate_ thought Yang as she looked out the window and saw a large ominous grey storm cloud peaking over the horizon, unaware that the true storm was just beginning.

* * *

Team RNJR was making their way towards the next village. They were about halfway across the Kingdom of Vale when they noticed the storm clouds approaching. "Huh, looks like a storm is coming," said Ruby as she and the others looked up at the large dark grey clouds that covered the horizon.

"Yeah, looks like it might be a real nasty one to," said Jaune. Team RNJR was still about a days walk away from the next village. It was dusk and the sun was quickly fading.

"Should we set up camp here for the night?" asked Ren as the group reached a clearing.

"Yeah, I don't see why not," said Jaune as he dropped his bag and started to unpack the camping gear. "Right, I think its my turn to cook tonight?" asked Jaune as he grabbed a couple of pots.

"Yep, and I have tent duty with Nora," said Ren as he started to unroll a tent.

"I be back with the firewood!" chimed Ruby before she disappeared leaving a trail of rose pedals behind her. Jaune got a fire started and began to boil some water for the soup he had prepared while Nora and Ren set up the tents. Ruby returned five minutes later carrying all the fire wood her little arms could hold. Jaune finished preparing diner and the four teens sat around the fire chatting until they started to feel a light breeze and drizzle.

"Well looks like this storm is gonna start here soon, guess we should call it a night," said Jaune as he put his bowl away and packed up the cooking gear.

"Yeah, see you guys tomorrow" said Ruby as she and Nora retreated into their tent. Ren helped Jaune finish cleaning the dishes and threw the cooking gear into their tent next to their bags. They both heard the wind start to pick up and decided to be safe rather than sorry and zip up all the air flaps for the tent. They both crawled into their sleeping bags and tried to get some sleep.

Unbeknownst to the a figure in the tree line watched as the four turned into their tents for the night. The figure quickly retreated to the lofty cabin about a fourth of a mile away from the tents and rushed into the basement.

"My master, the four have arrived just as you said they would," said the figure as she knelled before a dark shrine. It resembled that of a cross but with three horizontal lines instead of one.

"Good my girl, good. And this storm I conjured up should force them to seek shelter and find your cabin, you know what to do next correct," asked the voice of Salem.

"Yes Mistress, I know. Gain their trust and then eliminate them," said the figure.

"Excellent, now go, and finish the task," said Salem.

"Yes Mistress." the figure got up and turned on all the lights within her spacious cabin and waited until her prey arrived. "Just like a moth drawn to the flame, hahaha," laughed the figure as she awaited for the teens arrival.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 done! Not a whole lot for this authors note (because that was it).**


	3. The Poisonous Flower

Chapter 3

The wind howled outside. So much so that both Ren and Jaune could not fall asleep. They listened as nature unleashed hell against their tent with mighty winds and rain. "Ren, I don't think the tent is going to last much longer," said Jaune as he started to hear the sound of tearing fabric.

"I think you might be right Jaune, lets pack our things while we still can," said Ren as he rushed to roll and secure his sleeping bag. Jaune quickly followed and the duo also decided to put their combat gear on instead of their pajamas. They figured it would do a better job of keeping them warm than their thin pajamas would. After they were able to pack all their gear Ren turned to Jaune, "Do you think we should get the girls?"

Before Jaune could answer they watched as the tent finally gave out and was torn to pieces by the fierce wind and rain leaving the two young hunters in the middle of the storm. The duo looked to see the shreds of their tent fly into the girls tent. It was the final thing needed for the girls tent to be torn apart. Soon the two girls were also exposed to the elements. Unfortunately they did not have the foresight to pack their bags, or even get changed for that matter as they were suddenly awoken by the pouring rain.

"AH! What the hell!" cried Nora in shock as she quickly sat up to see the carnage around her. She looked over to see Ruby scrambling to grab her things and prevent them from getting blown away. She managed to grab the bag filled with her combat gear, but failed to grab the bag with her food rations as it was ripped away in the storm. She quickly turned around and saw her sleeping bag also get ripped away.

"NO!" cried Ruby as she started to shiver in the cold. Nora quickly followed her lead but was lucky and grabbed all her gear before it got blown away. "N-N-Nor-r-a! A-a-ar-re y-y-you th-there" shivered Ruby.

"Y-yeah, w-where a-a-are th-th-the bo-oys?" she asked also shivering.

"Right here!" yelled Jaune as he and Ren approached the girls.

"Oh jeez, Ruby here!" said Jaune as he quickly pulled off his hoodie and gave it to Ruby. Ruby put the hoodie on as fast as she could and thanked Jaune. Ren took off his green jacked and gave it to Nora.

"We have to find some cover!" yelled Jaune as he searched for somewhere they could retreat to.

"Wait Jaune look! Is that a light?" yelled Ruby as she noticed a faint glow in the tree line.

"We'll have to go see, everyone! Head towards that light!" yelled Jaune as he started to run towards it. The others quickly followed, all while trying to shield their faces from natures onslaught.

"Look out!" yelled Ren as he saw a tree falling besides them. The teens all quickly dived out of the way to avoid being flattened by the tree. Ruby and Nora dove backwards while Jaune and Ren dove forwards, and landed in a pool of mud.

"This is just lovely! You girls okay?!" called Jaune.

"Yeah were fine! Hurry, we're almost there!" cried Ruby as she and Nora jumped over the fallen tree. Team RNJR started to approached the source of the light. It was a large, two story cabin. The teens quickly ran onto the porch and were surprised when someone opened the door, "Quickly get inside!" cried a female voice. The four didn't question her and rushed in to get away from the storm. As soon as all four were inside, the mystery girl slammed the door shut behind them and locked it tight. They looked around and saw a beautiful wooden interior to the cabin. The were in what appeared to be the living room. It was a large and open room with four couches aligned in a half circle facing a large T.V. with a bear skin rug at the feet of the couches. It had multiple lamps all around the room giving a nice bright appearance. They looked over to see a staircase leading up with a balcony looking down on the living room. Hanging from the ceiling was a beautiful iron chandelier hanging over illuminating the room. They saw another door across from them leading to what appeared to be a dining room.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay? What on earth were your four doing in that storm?" exclaimed the girl. Ruby was the first to turn around and see their savior. She was a young girl, about 5'7 with short blonde hair that went down to about her chin. It was curly just like Yang's hair. She had brown eyes, and was wearing what appeared to be a green sleeping gown.

Ruby quickly shot up and shook the girls hand, "Oh thank you so much! Sorry about barging in like this, we were camping over in the clearing when the storm destroyed our tent," said a dripping Ruby.

"Oh you guys must be exhausted!" said the blonde girl.

"We are, if it isn't any trouble do you think we can stay here for the night," asked Ren as he got up and shook the girls hand as well.

"Yeah, no problem! Oh you must also be famished, lucky for you I just restocked the kitchen," said the girl.

"Can we make pancakes?!" asked a very excited Nora as she shot up at the prospect of eating her favorite food again for the first time in months.

"Yeah, I think I've got pancake mix, the kitchen is right through-," started the girl before she looked at Jaune who had now got up and faced the group. She felt a blush spread across her face. Jaune arched an eyebrow and looked behind him to see what she was looking at. After a quick glance behind him he couldn't see anything _I wonder what the heck shes looking at then?_ Jaune quickly brushed the idea out of his head and decided to try and engage in conversation, "Again, thanks Miss?" asked Jaune as he extended his hand out. The girl quickly snapped out of her thoughts and grabbed Jaune's hand, "Lilly! My name is Lilly!" she squeaked.

"Well Lilly its nice to meet you, I'm Jaune, that is Nora, Ren, and Ruby," said Jaune as he shook Lilly's hand as she just stared into his eyes.

"Um Lilly?" chimed Nora. Lilly shook out of her thoughts and looked at the ginger, "The kitchen is where exactly?" asked Nora.

"Oh its just through that door and to the left, I'm sure you'll find it," replied Lilly.

"Thanks!" said Nora as she took Ren's jacket off and gave it back to him and ran to the kitchen to make some pancakes. Ruby gave Jaune back his hoodie and quickly joined her. Jaune and Ren looked at eachother and then to Lily, "Do you have a bathroom or something we can go get cleaned up in?" asked Jaune as he and Ren were not only sopping wet as they did not have their jackets to help deflect the rain, but were covered in mud after they landed in that puddle.

"Uh, y-yeah just f-follow me," stuttered Lilly as she quickly rushed towards the stairs. The boys just shrugged and followed. The stairs led to a hallway with smooth wooden floors and three doors on the left, and two in the right. Lilly went to the last door on the right. She opened it to reveal a large white tiled bathroom with a counter with two mirrors and sinks with light both above the mirrors and in the clear glass sinks. There was also a large white bathtub with jets in it, which made Jaune think that it could actually be a Jacuzzi. Next to that was a shower with a large black tube that could open and close which acted as a shower curtain.

"You two can clean up in here and then meet me and the others downstairs when your finished." said Lilly.

"Thanks Lilly," said Jaune as he approached the mirror and removed his muddy shirt. Lilly almost got a nosebleed when she saw Jaune's muscular back. She quickly shut the door and rushed to her room. Her room was a medium sized room with a queen sized bed placed in the middle of the far wall with two dressers on either side of it. One was a large, two door dresser. The other was a small two drawer dresser with a mirror on top.

She quickly rushed to the mirror and stared at her reflection and said, "Damn it, why didn't Mistress tell me that one of them was going to be so, so, so hot!" Her blush continued to get deeper and deeper shades of red. "No matter, you still have a job to do, you can just have a little fun while doing it," said Lilly as a devilish smile spread across her face.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" screamed a furious Pyrrha as she just finished watching Jaune and Lilly's interaction.

"Pyrrha, please calm down," said Ozpin as he tried to ease the young warrior. His request fell upon deaf ears.

"I know that look! That kind of talk! Thats the way I was around him! Who the hell does she think she is!" screamed furious Pyrrha that someone else had taken a liking to her crush. As she did this a sulfur yellow began to glow off of her.

"Huh, that must be the color of jealousy, I always though it would be more of an orange color," said Ozpin as he watched the yellow flame emit from Pyrrha.

* * *

Jaune and Ren quickly washed themselves up as best they could and threw on a couple of white bath robes while they waited for their cloths to dry. Jaune noticed that on each of the robes was an angled lily flower with a single red drop falling out of it. _Huh, might be her family seal or something_ , Jaune thought. After the two though they looked presentable enough they departed from the bathroom and made their way down the stairs. They proceeded into the kitchen. The kitchen was a nice, large room with a stainless steel refrigerator, oven, and microwave. It also had cabinets lining the walls in the same light brown as her other woodwork in the living room. There were nice granite counters, with an island in the middle with four stainless steel stools to sit on. Across from the island was the stove with six burners on top, and with six pans of pancakes cooking on each.

"Jeez Nora, you really got down to business," said Jaune as he looked at the mess Nora had made. There was a large mixing bowl lying on the island with dry pancake powder lying all around it, with multiple eggshells scattered across the island as well. There was also three empty bags which presumably once held pancake mix scattered across the granite. And next to the oven outlets was a small mountain of pancakes.

"Jaune you of all people should know that when it comes to pancakes, I am Queen!" Nora exclaimed as she stirred more pancake batter. Ruby was sitting on one of the four stools eating some of Nora's pancakes.

"Wo ruys sud ty soom," mumbled Ruby with her mouth full of pancakes.

"Ruby it is rude to talk with your mouth full," said Ren.

"Srry," -gulp-, "Sorry, I said you guys should try some! They are delicious!" squealed Ruby.

"Nora you're going to clean this mess up right? We wouldn't want to be rude house guests to Lilly," said Jaune as he looked over the powdery mess.

"Aye Aye fearless leader!" said Nora with a salute.

"You're the leader to?" exclaimed a voice. Team RNJR looked to the kitchen to see Lilly standing there, stunned at what Nora just said to Jaune.

"Oh hey there Lilly. Yeah I'm Nora's team leader. By the way, you don't mind if me and Ren use these robes do you? We just needed something to wear until our cloths dried off," said Jaune as he tugged on his bathrobe. As much a Lilly wanted to say no so that Jaune would have to walk around her house shirtless, she decided against it as she still needed to gain their trust.

"Yeah you can wear it. And Nora, I have no problem with you cooking in my kitchen, but I do ask that you clean it up," said Lilly as she looked over Jaune and Ren to see the mess that was in her kitchen.

"Don't worry about it Lilly! If there is one thing I know how to do other than make pancakes, its clean up those pancakes!" said Nora as she flipped the six pancakes off the pans and poured more batter. Lilly just chuckled and walked over to a cabinet filled with herbs and spices.

"Would any of you like some tea?" she asked.

"Sure I'll take some," said Jaune.  
"Me to," said Ren. Lilly just nodded and pulled out three bags of tea. She walked over to another cabinet and took out three mugs. After that she went to a water cooler she had and placed hot water into the cups. What the group didn't notice is that she also pulled a small veil out of her sleeve and sprinkled a black powder into one of the mugs.

"Alright, here you go!" said Lilly as she handed a mug to Jaune and Ren. "Thanks," the duo said in unison. They quickly sat next to Ruby and grabbed some of Nora's pancakes and started to eat.

"Wow Nora, these are really good," said Jaune as he poured more syrup onto his pancake. He and the others started to dig in while Nora just made more pancakes. After a few more minutes Lilly gave a yawn and said, "Well I'm going to turn in for the night, we can catch up tomorrow on just why you guys were out in the middle of a storm. There are two guest bedrooms upstairs. They're the last one on the right and the first on the left. The others can sleep on the couches in the living room. I'll let you guys sort out the sleeping arrangements. See you tomorrow." With that, she took her leave and went upstairs to her room.

"Rock paper scissors for who gets bed and couch?" asked Ruby.

"Sure," said Jaune as he turned and faced Ruby. The two put their fists on their palms threw down, "Rock paper scissors." Ruby threw rock while Jaune threw paper.

"Best two out of three?" asked Ruby with puppy dog eyes. Jaune just laughed and ruffled her hair, "Goodnight ya big dork." Ruby just pouted as Jaune got up and walked to bed. Ruby turned to face Ren and Nora, "So how are you guys gonna decided who gets bed and who gets couch?"

"Simple, I will take couch and Nora can have the bed," said Ren as he took another sip of his tea.

"Really? Thank you thank you thank you!" cried Nora as she pulled Ren into a hug. Ruby just laughed as she also gave a yawn and retreated onto the couch. She found a blanket placed at the end of it along side a pillow and quickly fell asleep in the couch's soft embrace.

* * *

Ruby's eyes slowly opened. She sat up and looked out the window to see the storm was still raging on outside and didn't seem to have any signs of letting up. _Well, looks like we won't be going anywhere today_ thought Ruby as she got up and headed towards the kitchen to eat some breakfast. When she entered the kitchen she saw Nora and Ren both sitting at the counter with Ren eating a few pancakes while Nora had a mountain of the fluffy treat. She saw Lilly leaning back on the counter across from them drinking either tea or coffee. She had gotten out of her night gown and was now wearing black jeans with a yellow shirt with the same symbol the bathrobes had painted in red across the middle of the shirt. She turned her head and saw the young reaper.

"Good morning Ruby, did you sleep well?" she asked. Ren and Nora turned to face their young co-leader.

"Yeah I slept fine, thanks for asking. Is Jaune not up yet?" Ruby asked.

"No, I am," said a very stuffy voice. The four turned to see a very pale Jaune with bags under his eyes slowly stagger into the kitchen.

"Oh my Oum Jaune! You look terrible! Are you feeling okay?" asked Ruby as Jaune slowly staggered to one of the stools and sat down and immediately buried his head into his hands with his elbows resting on the counter

"I'd be lying to you if I said I've been better. Truth of the matter is I feel like absolute shit," said Jaune. Ruby quickly put her hand over Jaune's forehead.

"Jaune! You're burning up! Oh no, you must have caught a cold last night after you gave me your jacket," exclaimed Ruby. "I'm sorry"

"Its fine Ruby, you don't need to apologize, had I not given you my jacket you would probably be the one in this situation," said a weary Jaune. "I think I'll eat some breakfast and go back to bed." He looked up to see that Lilly was preparing another cup of tea. And he again did not notice her pour an extra ingredient into it.

"Here have this, the herbs in it should help clear your sinuses," said Lilly as she handed the knight the cup.

"Thanks," said Jaune as he took a sip of the drink. Ren got up and took a few pancakes off of Nora's pile and handed them to Jaune.

"Hey!" the hammer wielder protested. Ren gave her a stern look and simply said, "Nora." She quickly just went back to consuming her mountain of pancakes.

"Thanks," said Jaune as Ren slid him a plate.

"No problem," said the green ninja as Jaune slowly ate. After about five minutes Jaune finished his tea and slowly staggered back up into the guest bedroom. After he left the remaining four made their way into the living room with Ren and Nora sitting on a couch and Ruby and Lilly sitting in the two armchairs.  
"So, would you guys mind telling me just what exactly you four were doing out in the middle of this storm last night?" asked Lilly. Ruby Ren and Nora went on to explain the events of the past four months and how they had been traveling across the kingdoms to get to Haven to try and bring Cinder to justice.

"Then after we fought off that pack of Grimm we decided to camp for the night in the clearing with the storm quickly approaching. But in the middle of the night it tore our tents to shred and forced us to seek cover. Then we saw a light in the woods and followed it, which lead us to here!" recapped Ruby.

"I see," said Lilly as she finished listening to Ruby's tale of their travels. She looked over and noticed that about three hours had pasted. "Well I think I'm going to go make some more tea for your friend and check up on him. If you guys want to watch some T.V or something the remote is right over there," said Lilly as she pointed towards the night stand resting next to Ren. She walked into the kitchen and made Jaune another cup of tea. She pulled the vile out of her jean pocket and pored more of the black flakes into his drink and stirred them in. Once she was convinced that she had sufficiently stirred it in she made her way upstairs while Ruby Ren and Nora all watched the news. Lilly approached the door and knocked, "Jaune, are you awake?"

"Yeah, come on in," replied Jaune. Lilly opened the door to see Jaune lying down in bed with the covers up to his chest with his arms on top of the blanket.

"You feeling any better?" asked Lilly as she pulled up a chair next to him.

"At the moment not a whole lot better, but hopefully that will change," said an optimistic Jaune. Lilly just flashed a smile and handed him the cup of tea.  
"Here, this should help." Jaune sat up and took the cup from her. He drank it slowly as Lilly just looked at him as she bit her lip as she looked over his features. After he finished, he turned to her and asked, "Hey Lilly, I was wondering, whats a girl like you doing all alone in the middle of the woods?" Lilly was a little taken back by the question, but after a few moments answered him.

"Well, I'm not a hunter like you and your friends down there. No my Dad was a woodsman and built this cabin out here. He sold his lumber to the next village over and made a huge profit. He and my mom were able to build and furnish this place with that money. They had me seventeen years ago and we lived out here with my Dad occasionally selling lumber to help pay for food. But a couple of years ago during a Grimm attack my Mom and Dad were killed leaving me all alone. I guess I just continued to live here since I had no where else to go. My Dad installed solar panels before he died so that covers my electricity. And my Mom was best friends with the owner of the supermarket, and she just gives me food when I need it."

"Does it ever get lonely?" asked Jaune. Lilly looked at him with an expression that Jaune couldn't quite make out, _sadness, loathing, desire?_ he thought as he tried to understand what the young women was saying with her eyes.

"All the time," she simply replied.  
"Well, at least you got us to keep you company for the next few days," said the blonde knight with a warm smile. Lilly's heart fluttered as she quickly felt a blush creep up her face.  
"You should get some more sleep Jaune, I'll check on you later tonight," she said as she quickly got up and made her way to the door.

"Alright, see you then," said Jaune as he started to lay back down and go to sleep. Lilly quickly closed the door behind her and rushed to her room, trying to cool herself down. _Get it together Lilly! Remember you can't keep him, no matter how much you want to! But then again that doesn't mean I can't have a little_ fun she though as her mind went to much much dirtier places. _Gah focus Lilly!_ After _he dies from the Grimm flakes Mistress gave you, and the rest of his team is weakened from the flakes they'll be easy pickings. Just a few more doses should do it_ she thought as she pulled the flakes out of her pocket. "Just a few more doses," she said to her self.

* * *

A few hours later RNR and Lilly were sitting around the table downstairs eating some dinner that Lilly had prepared them. Little did they know that she had laced all their drinks with small amounts of the flakes. It wouldn't be enough to make them sick like Jaune, but it would be enough to weaken them to a point she could easily take them. "Wow Lilly, this is delicious, where did you learn to cook like this?" asked Ruby as she ate another portion of the turkey Lilly prepared.

"I just picked it up over the years.," she replied as she took another bite of her food. As they were eating they heard someone start to make their way down the stairs. The four looked to see Jaune slowly approach them, looking worst than ever. He was now an almost ghostly shade of pale with only a little color left in him. His bags were much heavier now, and his eyes were now almost red as oppose to the bright blue they normally were.

"My Oum Jaune! Have you not been sleeping?" cried out Ruby in shock seeing the condition her friend was in.

"N-no I've be-en sleeping. B-ut it hasn't h-helped me out," stuttered a very sick Jaune. Lilly quickly got up and said, "You should head back to bed, I'll bring you up some food and tea in a few minutes," as she started to redirect him to the stairs.

"O-okay," he said weakly as he made his way back up the stairs. Lilly looked at RNR and said, "Go ahead and finish with out me, my Mom taught me a few ways to help out with a fever." The others just nodded as she quickly rushed into the kitchen and poured him another glass of Grimm tea and made a small plate of food for the poor knight. She quickly brought it to his room and placed it on a night stand. "Jaune you should take off your shirt, its drenched in sweat," said Lilly as she felt the soaking wet shirt. Jaune obliged and took of his plain white T-Shirt. Lilly instantly went red and brought the shirt to the bathroom and grabbed a loofah, a bowl filled with cold water, a rag, and a towel and brought it back to the room. She soaked rag in the cold water and put it against his head. Then she soaked the loofah and began to run it across his body. Jaune slightly shuttered at the sudden cold but quickly got used to it. Jaune wanted her to stop, and tried to put up a struggle, but couldn't. He was too weak to really put up any sort of fight. Lilly just continued to stroke up and down his body with some drool coming out of her mouth while she did so. After about ten minutes of the strange cleaning, Lilly finally pulled her hands off of Jaune and fed him the food and tea. This again made Jaune very uncomfortable, and his face showed it, which Lilly noticed, and so did a certain red head as well. But Lilly just ignored it and continued to feed him. After she finished she got up and said, "I'll see you tomorrow Jauney," with a wink and left the room. Jaune simply put a fake smile on and looked up after she left and said, "What the hell just happened to me?!"

* * *

Ozpin was slightly scared. He knew he was in the equivalent of purgatory and therefore could not die, but that still didn't stop him from being scared of the event infront of him. "Pyrrha please, just calm down and think for a min," started Ozpin before Pyrrha's blind screams of fury cut him off.

"JAUNEY! JAUNEY! WHO THE FUCK DOES THIS LITTLE TRAMP THINK SHE IS CALLING MY JAUNE JAUNEY! ON TOP OF THE FACT THAT SHE KEEPS ACTING LIKE SHE IS HIS WIFE OR SOMETHING! AND FORCING HERSELF UPON HIM WHEN HE IS CLEARLY STRUGGLING AGAINST IT! AHHHHHHH!" Ozpin had to cover his ears because of just how loud she was screaming. Pyrrha was burning a bright orange flame now. _Anger is orange? I always though it would be red_ thought Ozpin as Pyrrha continued to scream.

"IF ANYONE IS GOING TO BATHE HIM, IT WILL BE ME! I'M NOT TOTALLY DEAD YET! MARK MY WORDS OZPIN, I WILL GET BACK TO JAUNE, AND IF ANYONE IS GOING TO ACT OR BE HIS WIFE, THAT GIRL WILL BE ME!" the spartan vowed as she continued to glow a brilliant orange flame of anger.

* * *

Jaune slowly woke up and felt worse than before. He slowly staggered up and stumbled to a mirror to look at his reflection. He was ghost white now with his eyes being almost completely red, _this doesn't make any sense, why do I keep getting worse?_ Jaune thought as he looked at the ghoul in the mirror. _Think, what could be causing me to get worse, the only thing I have been doing is sleeping, eating, and drinking-_ suddenly Jaune came to the realization. _The tea? Is that whats causing all this?_ As he though about it more, he never made any of the tea himself and could have been being drugged this whole time without him knowing _theres only one way to find out, stop drinking that tea!_ Jaune slowly and painfully made his way back down the stairs and into the kitchen with his friends, where they looked horrified at his condition.

"Jaune!" Nora gasped as she put her hand over her mouth. Jaune gave a weak smile and said, "I've been worse." He looked up and saw that Lilly was already preparing him some more tea. She walked over and handed it to him.

"Thanks, but do you mind if I take this upstairs with me?" asked Jaune as he brought the drink to his lips but did not allow any into his mouth and fake swallowed.

"Not at all Jaune! Now please, go back to sleep," said Lilly. Jaune simply nodded and made his way back up the stairs. When he got to his room he shut the door and used all the remaining strength he had to open the window and dump the tea into the still raging storm. He knew Lilly wouldn't notice the tea among all the rain. After he shut the door he crawled back into bed and hoped he was right about the tea being the cause of his aliment.

* * *

Downstairs Ruby Ren and Nora sat in the living room and were talking about Jaune, "Guys I'm really worried about Jaune, hes getting worse and worse!" said Ruby. "I don't think its just a cold anymore, I think Jaune might have contracted a disease or something!"

"I think you might be right Ruby," said Ren as he pondered Jaune's condition. Ren was no expert in medicine, but he did know a few things that might help his friend recover. Before he could voice these thoughts the three teens suddenly heard a breaking news bulletin come across the T.V.

"Breaking News, it would appear that this storm that has been raging over the last two days is going to come to an end here very soon. Meteorologists say that the storm is set to end by tomorrow, but now before it gives one final destructive push. Citizens are advised to stay indoors tomorrow and not go outside for any reasons at all. In other news the search for two young boys has been postponed due to the weather. The boys Jon and Tom Martinez went missing five days ago from the village of Guardian Rock and have not been seen since. If any of you see these two boys, please call the local authorities. This picture was taken of them the day they disappeared." A picture of two small boys appeared on the screen. They were twins and had identical appearances, the only way to tell them apart was with their cloths. Tom was wearing a red t-shirt with a yellow star in the middle and had grey jeans on. While Jon was wearing a very unique hoodie with white and green graffiti designs painted all across its black background. He was also wearing neon green shorts.

"Poor kids," said Ren as he turned the T.V off. "Now about Jaune, I think I may have some herbs in my bag that can help him, but I will need time to blend them together."

"How long do you need?" asked Ruby.

"About five hours," guessed Ren as he started to ruffle through his bag.

"Hey, where did Lilly go?" asked Nora.

"She said she had to go check the basement and be sure it didn't flood," said Ruby.

* * *

Meanwhile down in the basement, Lilly sat before a cross with three horizontal lines, on her knees praying. Soon a blurry image of Salem appeared. "Lilly, what progress do you have to report?" asked the Mistress of the Grimm.

"My Mistress, I am happy to report that the one known as Jaune Arc is near death after the doses I gave him of the flakes, and should be dead within the next forty eight hours. After that I will pick off his friends with small doses I have given them which will make them too weak to fight." said Lilly.

"Excellent my child, not only have you crippled this team RNJR, but you have also managed to elicit anger from one of my prisoners for me to feed on. See to it that you complete this job, and you shall receive your reward." said Salem with a visible grin.

"Mom and Dad, do not worry my master, I will not fail you," said Lilly. Salem quickly faded out and Lilly put the tarp back over the cross. After she completed that she rejoined the others upstairs.

* * *

As Jaune woke up, he knew that he felt better. He got up and looked into the mirror to see that he had regained some color to his face and his eyes were once again beginning to look their natural shade of blue. _Guess I was right_ thought Jaune as he joined his friends for dinner. He saw the four sitting at the island eating what appeared to be meatloaf. Ruby was the first to notice the knight and greeted him, "Jaune! You look better, you feeling any better?"

"Yeah actually, I think Lilly's tea is finally working. Guess my system just needed to get use to it," said Jaune as he joined the others. Lilly got up and proceeded to make Jaune and herself cups of tea. This time however, Jaune watched her carefully as she made the tea and noticed her pull something out of her pocket and dump all the contents into the cup. _Caught Red handed, but lets not reveal her just yet. How about I give her a taste of her own_ medicine, thought Jaune. Lilly approached him and set her tea down on the island.

"Well Jaune, I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Here, this should help you beat that cold," said Lilly as she handed Jaune the glass. Jaune smiled and took the glass from her.

"Thanks Lilly. Hey, what are you guys eating?" asked Jaune as he quickly rushed over to the large meatloaf in the center of the island. He leaned over the counter at an angle so Lilly couldn't see him switch the cups of tea.

"Oh, we're having meatloaf, you want some?" she asked.

"Sure, I woul- opps!" exclaimed Jaune as he "tripped" and spilled his tea onto Lilly's pants. "Oh my Oum! I'm so sorry Lilly! Here let me help you clean up!" said Jaune as he quickly rushed to grab some paper towels. Lilly looked down at her tea soaked pants. "You start that, I'm going to go change real quick," said Lilly as she dashed upstairs. The others got up and helped Jaune clean up. It did not take too long as it was not a very big cup of tea. After they finished, Ren put his hand on Jaune's shoulder and said, "Here Jaune, I made this earlier today, its a bunch of herbs that should help you finally beat this cold." Jaune took the packet from his friend and leaned into Ren ear. "Thanks bud, but don't tell Lilly you gave this to me, I'll explain why later." Before Ren could question his friend any further, Lilly returned with a new set a pants.

"Here Jaune, I'll make you some more tea," said Lilly as she took the empty glass from Jaune and refilled it with her Grimm tea. Jaune took the glass and said, "Thanks, I think I'm going to head back to bed now, try and finally beat this cold," said Jaune as he put the glass to his lips again and faked five swallows of the tea. He left the group and got back into his room. With his new found strength he once again opened the window and dumped the tea out. After that he rushed to the bathroom and cleaned out the cup and filled it with semi warm water from the sink. He put Ren's packet in and allowed it to mix in with the water. Once he was convinced that it was mixed enough, he downed the concoction. It was very bitter and cold, but Jaune knew that if Ren had made it, it would give him that final push he needed to beat the poison that Lilly had given him. Once that was complete he went back to his bed and fell asleep, knowing that tomorrow he would finally feel better.

* * *

Back downstairs Lilly picked up her glass and drank her tea, trying to relax in the knowing that it would all be over soon. When she had run back upstairs she grabbed two veils of the Grimm flakes and poured them into Jaune's drink, a lethal amount. She knew that just one full veil would have been enough to kill him like she placed i his first drink, but after he spilled it all over her, she wanted to be sure it would kill him. _It was fun while it lasted,_ she thought as she knew she had sent the young knight to his death. Once she finished "her" tea, she washed the glass out and decided to head to bed. Ruby and the others followed soon after her, all not knowing just what exactly Jaune had done.

* * *

Jaune's eyes shot open when he woke up. For the first time in days he felt alive and full of energy, _wow Ren, you really know how to help a guy fell better_ thought Jaune as he looked in the mirror. He had completely gained back the color to his face and no longer had heavy bags under his eyes. And speaking of his eyes, they shinned a bright blue yet again. Jaune looked at the clock and saw tat it read six o'clock. _I'm willing to bet that I'm the first one up_ thought Jaune as he noticed the storm outside. It was the final day and just like the weather men had predicted the storm was giving it everything it had. Jaune looked outside to see the rain falling sideways due to the high winds. He could barley make out the trees in the distance because of all the water falling from the sky. He decided to sneak downstairs and await Lilly to confront her on what she did. He grabbed his combat gear and waited in the kitchen, sitting in the dark for her to appear. After roughly half an hour, Lilly staggered down the stairs, but instead of heading into the kitchen, made a b-line for the basement. Jaune followed curiously. As he entered the living room he noticed that Lilly had woken Ruby, Nora and Ren up who had been sleeping on the couches.

"Jaune? Whats going on?" asked a drowsy Ruby.

"I'm not quite sure, but I intend on getting some answers. Grab your weapons and follow me," said Jaune as the others all quickly grabbed their weapons. Lilly didn't even close the door behind her and RNJR slowly made their way down the steps. At the bottom they hid in the shadows and watched as she took a tarp off of what he could only describe a a cross with three lines. He watched her get on her knees and begin to pray, "Master, please, I beg of you, appear." What the group saw next horrified him, a snow white women with burning red eyes and black veins appeared before her in a cloud of mist.

"Lilly, what is it that you want?" asked the mystery women.

"Master Salem, s-something has gone wrong, I do not know how but I have been infected by the Grimm flakes I was using on the Arc boy. Please, how do I cure it?" begged a very weak Lilly. Salem simply looked down at the girl and said, "You don't cure it Lilly. You die."

"What?! Th-there has to be some way to cure it! The Arc boy showed signs of improvement! What did he do to bring that upon?" asked Lilly. Salem flashed a small grin and replied, "There is a big difference between you and the Arc boy, he has unlocked his aura, you have not. It is what allowed him to survive your small doses of my disease. If you had not played with your food and given him a whole veil like I instructed then he would have died the first day. But rather you decided to try and keep him as a pet of sorts, and it shall cost you your life Lilly." Salem showed no sign of remorse or sorrow in her words.

"Mistress please! You can't do this! You need me," pleaded Lilly.

"That my dear is where you are wrong, you are nothing but a pawn unlike you white knight, you are more than a simple pawn in the game," said Salem as she looked directly at Jaune. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he looked this Salem directly in her cold dead eyes. Lilly looked over her shoulder and saw RNJR standing in the shadows. "Please! You have to help me!" cried Lilly as she tried to crawl towards the team. She no longer had the color she once did. Now instead she was as white as a ghost, with eyes as red as Salem. She had heavy bags under her eyes that aged her immensely. She tried to crawl towards the group of hunters but couldn't. Jaune stepped out of the shadows and faced the mist body of Salem.

"What are you?" he asked, trying his best to hide the fear in his voice. Salem gave a small chuckle.

"I suppose you have earned that answer knight. I am Salem, Mistress of the Grimm." she said as she looked at the scared boy before her.

"Mistress of the Grimm?" he asked. The rest of RNJR also stepped out of the shadows and stood by Jaune's side.

"Yes child, I am the one that can control the Grimm. I am the one that creates them. I am the Grimm" said Salem in a cold dead tone.

"Y-your responsible for the Grimm, and all the death a destruction they have caused?" stuttered Jaune in pure shock that he had discovered not only where Grimm come from, but who.

"Yes my boy, I am the one responsible for the Grimm. I am their fabled leader. I am the one who has killed countless of your kind, including many of your ancestors Arc. Men have been searching for me for thousands of years. And you knight have, managed to find me. So I congratulate you on this victory. I suspect it will not be your last either. But mark these word white knight, you and your friends there will fall one by one. Eventually my pieces will kill each and every one of you. This is your warning, facing me is facing death itself." said Salem. Ruby looked over to Jaune to see some tears falling down his face and his fists clenched. "Jaune?" she asked as she lightly shook his arm. She saw the look on his face go from shock, to sheer determination.

"No, you listen here you bitch! Us four will defeat you! After I avenge the love of my life, we will come and find you and make you pay for all the death, misery, and destruction you've brought upon this world. This is your warning, we're coming for you, and when we find you, there is no amount of Grimm that can save you from us." stated Jaune. Everyone including Salem was taken back by this sudden burst of courage from the blonde. Again, a small grin appeared across Salem's face. "I like you knight, you have many attributes I look for in a minion. This shall not be the last time we meet, but believe me when I say this boy, you will not come to me, I shall come to you. Goodbye," said Salem as she faded away. Jaune just stood there, shocked at not only what he said, but at what Salem had said to him _I shall come to you_ , those five words rang in his head. He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts by Lilly's cries of pain. He and the others approached her.

"Please, y-you have to help me," she cried out in pain as she reached her hand forward.

"Lilly, I'm sorry. I am so sorry, but there is nothing we can do for you. You drank a full veil of those flake things. None of us have a healing semblance, and unlocking your aura wouldn't save you. I'm sorry Lilly, but this is the end," said Jaune as he knelled down next to her. She took her hand and grabbed Jaune's, "I wasn't lying when I told you it was lonely.S-she promised me th-that she could give me my parents back. I-I'm so sorry for what I did to you Jaune. P-please forgive me," she said with tears rolling down her face. Jaune cupped the side of her face and looked her dead in the eye, "Lilly, I forgive you for what you did. You were only trying to get back the ones you lost. I understand that. Again Lilly, I forgive you for what you've done."

"Th-thank y-you Jaune," she said as she released her final breath. Jaune felt her hand go limp as she slumped over. Jaune crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. He got up and turned to his friends, "come on guys, lets go." He and the others made their way up the stairs and noticed the sun was shinning.

"Huh, I guess the storms over," said Ruby.

"Yep, come on, lets take what supplies we can and get a move on. We now have one more person we have to bring to justice. After we defeat Cinder Fall, we will have to face possibly our greatest opponent yet, the Mistress of the Grimm." said Jaune as he started to pack up things from Lilly's house they could use as supplies. The others quickly followed his lead and grabbed what they could. After about half an hour, they grabbed all they needed and headed of for the next village, Guardian Rock, with not only a new enemy, but new determination.

* * *

Pyrrha had tears flowing down her cheeks after she just witnessed the event infront of her. _This is just one more reason why I am in love with him. Even after she tried to kill him, he forgave her. He refuses to hold a grudge, and stayed with her to allow her to not die alone_. Ozpin looked over and saw Pyrrha was now glowing a bright pink. He smiled, as he knew exactly what that color meant, love.

* * *

Salem was in her throne room looking over her chess board. She moved the white horse as it took out a black pawn. "Well knight, lets see just what it is you are capable of doing," said Salem as she looked over the remaining chess pieces, curious to see just how much Jaune Arc would accomplish with his new found attitude.

* * *

 **Not quite sure how I went from barley scrapping 3,000 words to hitting 8,000. Though I can say you can expect long chapters like this in the future. I've hit the part in the story were there will be OC's a plenty. Again, not a whole lot for this authors note, next chapter should hopefully be out soon. One final thing though, I just want to say thanks to fnlrpa. You were right about me needing to try and improve my paragraph spacing, so I've gone back and changed not only this chapter, but the last two as well to a format I use to use and for some reason just abandoned. It helps make these things look less blocky and are easier to follow. So again, I guess just thank you, you helped me make this story better.**


	4. Time and Love

**Chapter 4**

Pyrrha and Ozpin were sitting in their cell watching team RNJR as they continued on towards their destination of Guardian Rock. The team had decided to take a break and were all sitting in a circle eating lunch. Ozpin looked over to Pyrrha and saw she was radiating that same pink flame. He smiled for the first time since his imprisonment. Then, a question popped into his head. "Hey Pyrrha," he started. Pyrrha quickly turned attention away form Jaune and looked over to Ozpin.

"Yes Headmaster?" she asked.

"Pyrrha, I am no longer your Headmaster, you can just call me Ozpin," replied Ozpin. Pyrrha just nodded her head as Ozpin continued, "I was wondering Pyrrha, how is it that a girl as strong and skilled as you, fell in love with a boy like Jaune?" Pyrrha's demeanor slightly darkened at this question and she began to glow a faint orange. _What did I say?_ thought Ozpin.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" she asked. Ozpin knew he had to pick his next words carefully, as he did not want to upset the only company he had in this prison. After he few moments he said, ""What I meant was that a girl of your stature and prowess could have easily chosen any boy in Remnant to like. Hell I'd be willing to bet there would be an army of boys that would kill for the chance to date the great Pyrrha Nikos. Why chose Jaune?"

Pyrrha had a same grin spread across her face and began to glow pink once again, "Because he was the first boy I've ever met to not be infatuated with me." Ozpin arched an eyebrow, "Go on." Pyrrha looked over to the orb and continued on by saying, "When I first came to Beacon I knew that there were going to be people that recognized me and wanted to either just be associated with me, or use my fame, as Weiss did when we first met. I dreamed that there might some how be just one person who didn't know who I was, or what I had accomplished. That I might be finally be able to make a true friend, and Jaune was my dream come true. Here was a boy who didn't know of my fame, or care about it. It was in that moment that I began to like Jaune and decided that he would be my partner for Beacon. As the year went on, I discovered Jaune was a kind and sweet boy. One who didn't let things like race or money change how he viewed people. It was after I saw him stand up for Velvet that I began to develop feelings for him. And then I thought my worst fears would come true after we had our first big fight when he disclosed a secret to me."

"His fake transcripts?" asked Ozpin.

Pyrrha's eyes lit up when she heard him say that, "H-how did you?" she started before Ozpin cut her off.

"Pyrrha please, I was a Headmaster for nearly twenty-five years. I know fake transcripts when I see them."

"Then, why did you?" started Pyrrha again before she was again cut off.

"Because he had something that many students didn't, a good heart. And I could tell all he neded to reach it was a chance. At our interview we made an arrangement. I told him that if he hoped to return to Beacon for a second year he would have to give me one hundred percent to make up for his lack of formal training. And he gave me more than that, you saw first hand just how much he has improved."

"But how did you know he wouldn't get killed? Or hurt? Or" Pyrrha rambled before Ozpin hushed her for a third time.

"I didn't. I trusted my gut on this one, much to Glynda's dismantlement. But I put Jaune's fate in his own hands, and he exceeded my expectations. But enough about Jaune's transcripts, tell me about how the fight ended," said Ozpin as he leaned forward in anticipation to hear the rest of Pyrrha's story.

Pyrrha could feel a light blush creep up her face as she continued, "Well, after our fight we didn't talk for two weeks. Jaune began to hang out with Cardin and I thought that my dream come true was nothing more than a lie. But then Forever Fall happened. Cardin told Jaune to throw the sap at me so that I would fail my project and he could get retribution for me beating his whole team. Jaune refused and instead allowed himself to be beaten to a pulp to protect me. Then the Ursa Major showed up, and instead of allowing Cardin to die for the torture he inflicted upon Jaune, Jaune saved his life by putting his own on the line, despite what Cardin had done to him. Later that night Jaune disclosed to me what happened on the roof and asked for me to continue to help him. It was that night that I developed a full blown crush on him. And it would only grow stronger and stronger as we continued on throughout the year. As he continued to try and pursue Weiss I began to fear that he would never feel the same for me. And then the winter dance happened." Tears began to lightly flow down her cheeks as she recalled the events of the dance. "When I went to the dance I felt so alone, so embarrassed that nobody had asked me. When Jaune came to talk to me on the roof I accidentally disclosed a little bit about how I feel for him. And instead of turning me away to purse Weiss like I thought he would, he instead came back in a dress to keep an offhand comment he made to me days before. He sacrificed his own humility to make me feel better. It was on that night that I feel in love with him. Never before had anybody done so much for me and not expect a single thing in return. And that is also why I will have to forever regret not making the first move."

"Why didn't you?" asked Ozpin.

"Because, I wanted Jaune to do it himself, I had too much damned pride to make the first move and thought that by him doing it would raise his confidence. And I will now forever have to live with this regret." Pyrrha began to cry now and was glowing a green flame of grief. Ozpin could only look on in sorrow as he watched one of if not his brightest pupil ever, mourn her past decisions. Decisions that he played a part in. And it was ultimately his decisions that led her to this place of death.

* * *

Jaune, Ruby, Ren, and Nora were all eating their sandwiches, and trying to think about what to talk about. So far they had discussed their plans for getting to Haven, and finding Cinder once they get there.

"Yeah! We'll make her pay for what she did to Pyrrha!" cried out Nora. Ruby looked over to Jaune and saw a feint smile flash across his face. Then an idea sparked in her head. "Hey Jaune, if you don't mind telling us, how did you fall in love with Pyrrha?" Jaune was a little surprised by Ruby's question.

"I-I mean only if you want!" chimed Ruby quickly after seeing the look on Jaune's face.

"No no its fine Ruby, I'll tell you guys," said Jaune. "Were do I begin? Well as I'm sure you all can guess I didn't immediately have feelings for her. For most of the year she was just my best friend. And I didn't seek anything more from that. Looking back now I think I was just too intimidated at first to even try and make a move."

"Why?" asked Ren.

"Well, here was this champion fighter, who was the best in the land, adored by millions. How could the clumsy dork like me ever hope of having a romantic relationship with her? I was just grateful that she was willing to be my partner to begin with. But despite her fame, I didn't want to put her on the podium, I could tell it was a spot she was too accustomed to and I didn't want to rob her of a friendship. As the year went on we got closer and closer, yet I still idiotically pursued Weiss and was too stupid to notice Pyrrha's advancements. Then the dance came around and I realized that I had actual feelings for her."

"What made you realize that?" asked Nora as she leaned in and began to eat more of her sandwich.

"At the dance, Pyrrha told me how she wished someone like me had asked her to the dance. It was in that moment that I realized that despite all her fame and combat skills, she was the most lonely person. And it was also in that moment I realized how blind I had been and just what she meant to me. Here was a beautiful, smart, and funny girl who had went out of her way to not only help me improve my fighting skills, but improve me as a person as well. Looking back at some of my actions, I think I always did like her, I just never understood my feelings." said Jaune as he looked sadly at the ground with a few tears going down his face. "She was the first girl to really give me a chance, despite my weaknesses. She went out of her way to better me, not for some gain on her behalf, but for my behalf. The things she sacrificed to be my partner and stay with throughout that year, no girl has ever done so much for me. When I saw how sad and lonely she was because I couldn't take a fucking hint, I knew what I had to do. I remembered a joke I made with Pyrrha that if no one asked her to the dance I would wear a dress. I hoped that would not only make her laugh so I could see that beautiful smile on her face, but that it might help make up for how I ignored her feelings for the whole year. But after that I was too scared to make a move on how I felt on her. I doubted myself and whether a girl as great as her could like an idiot as big as me. And I will now have to forever live with that regret." Jaune wiped the tears away from his eyes and stood up triumphantly , "And the best way to make up for my failure will be to bring her killer to justice. I know it won't totally bring me to peace with what I've lost, but its a start. Now then, come on, we should almost be at Guardian Rock," said Jaune as he picked up his bag. The others just nodded and took after his lead. _I swear to you Pyrrha, I will avenge your memory, or die trying_ thought Jaune as he and the others started to approach a village.

* * *

Pyrrha was crying again after hearing Jaune's confession. "Oh Jaune, how could you ever think I wouldn't want to be with you? If there is any way back to you Jaune I swear, I will find it." vowed Pyrrha.

"There just might be," said Ozpin. Pyrrha immediately jerked her hear towards Ozpin. "What? How!" she asked. Ozpin just looked forward, stroking his chin, deep in thought. "It will take time, but I think I may have a way out of here. I can't tell you about it now though, there is a very high chance it might fail. But if it were to work, it could get us out of this land."

"Ozpin, where exactly is this land?" asked Pyrrha.

"Well Pyrrha, we are in the equivalent of purgatory. Between the land of the living and dead. This is Salem's domain." replied Ozpin.

"And just who exactly is Salem?" asked Pyrrha.

"Salem is the root of all evil. She is as she told you earlier the Mistress of the Grimm. She creates all the Grimm that appear in Remnant. Though she wasn't always like this," said Ozpin.

"What do you mean?"

"Many years ago, she use to be human just like you and me. In fact, she use to be a Huntsmen like us as well. But her greed consumed her. She wanted to be the most powerful Huntress the world had ever seen, and in her lust for power she became the very thing she was sworn to destroy. She isn't the first of the Mistresses of Grimm, no far from it. She is currently the seventh Mistress. You see Pyrrha, each Mistress after they sign away their humanity become Grimm themselves. She is no longer human, only has human form. Each lives for roughly a thousand years, and when they reach the end of their life span, they seek the next able bodied host to fill their roll. I believe however that Salem is looking to do the impossible, to merge our worlds together." said Ozpin.

"What? How could she do that?" asked Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, do you know the legend of how the moon was shattered?" asked Ozpin.

Pyrrha was a little confused by the question but answered, "Yeah, it was shattered after the first and last Great Grimm War five hundred years ago, what about it?"

"That is only half the legend,"said Ozpin. "As you know, humanity was fighting against the Grimm just to stay alive. What the history books won't tell you is that there were two great generals during this war. Our General Jonathan Arc, Jaune's Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather, and the first to wield Crocea Mors, and Mizette, the sixth Mistress of the Grimm. In the final days of the War, Jonathan's generals thought it would be smart to combine all four of the Maidens powers into one body. And create a super weapon. However, when Jonathan and the Maiden entered Mizette's realm to bring the fight to her and end it, they walked right into a trap. Mizette used the power to fuel her super weapon and our worlds began to merge into one. The starting point of that merge was the moon. The merge was so violent that it began to shatter. Were it not for Jonathan's quick thinking and sacrifice to shove the Maiden out of the machine and take her place, our world would have been destroyed. It was after this that the Maiden's powers were deemed too dangerous to be in one place, and were scattered across Remnant, never to be together again as to prevent another apocalypse like that."

"How do you know all this Ozpin?" asked Pyrrha.

"Because, I was supposed to be the guardian of the maidens," replied Ozpin.

"What does that mean?" shed asked.

"Well you see Pyrrha, after I graduated from Beacon, I went on a mission to Atlas to stop an incoming horde of Grimm. Nothing too special, just your typical call. But that mission was anything from typical. There were five other hunters with me, Austin, Reno, Kelso, John, and my partner Sierra. When we met the Grimm horde, everything was going according to plan and we were winning, but then it took a tragic turn. The Grimm instead of acting like mindless creatures started to strategize. Picking us off one by one and isolating us on the battlefield. Kelso was the first to fall, then Austin, then John and Reno, I will never forget their screams as long as I live. Soon it was only me and Sierra left. But in the heat of the battle, w-we got separated. She was a lamb to the slaughter, she didn't stand a chance against all those Grimm. I would have been killed myself if it were not for Jane, the spring maiden's intervention. She fought off the last of the Grimm and saved my life. But when the battle ended, Salem appeared before her. I have never felt such terror and misery as I have in that moment when I saw the monster responsible for my friends deaths. She told Jane how even though she might have stopped her this time, she would emerge victorious. Well after that I knew too much. I knew about the maidens, and the powers they wielded, which left her with two choices. Either kill me on the spot and leave no witnesses, or recruit me into the Maiden's inner circle. Over the years I would continue my career as a Hunter, and become Headmaster. But all the while knowing about the powerful forces that were at work in Remnant. I eventually became the leader of the inner circle, and failed miserably at protecting them. Amber died under my watch, and I fear the other three will soon die as well." said Ozpin as he starred lifelessly at the ground.

"Why do you think that?" asked Pyrrha hesitantly as she was afraid she already knew the answer.

"I believe Salem is trying to combine the power of all four Madiens into Cinder, and us her to reopen the portal to merge our worlds together," said Ozpin still carrying that lifeless expression.

"But how can we hope to stop it?" asked Pyrrha.

"That is simple my dear, all Ruby, Jaune, Ren and Nora have to do is beat Cinder. You see, there are to ways to transfer a Maiden's powers. Willingly like we tried to do with you and Amber. Or by force, once one has beaten a Maiden it is up to them to decide what to do with the power. They can claim it as their own as Cinder did, give it to someone else, or put it in a rock for all they care. The point is, after one beats a Maiden, they decide what to do with the power. That however is why I fear for RNJR's lives." said Ozpin.

"Wait what! What do you think is going to happen to them?" asked a frightened Pyrrha.

"Well you see, Ren and Nora are just along for the ride to help defeat Cinder, but they do not play a larger role in Salem's game, so I fear she might just kill them and be done with it. They would be the lucky ones in this scenario. Ruby and Jaune however are a different matter. You see, the silver eyed warriors are the decedents of that one all powerful Maiden. With the genes of that power being passed down throughout the generations. However, because of that power, they are unable to become a Maiden. Thats why we chose you to become a Maiden instead of Ruby, you actually would be able to become one. With that power they are granted, they are very formidable foes against the Grimm. And there for, Ruby posses a major threat to Salem. I fear what she may do to try and neutralize Ruby as just killing her is unlike Salem. She will want to make her pay for thwarting her plans with the Dragon Grimm. And then there is Jaune," said Ozpin.

"What about him!" cried Pyrrha in pure fear.

"Well, as you know, the Arcs have always been great warriors, and they have stood in the way of the Mistresses of the Grimm's plans for hundreds of years now, both intentionally and unintentionally. It is because of this that I fear Salem may have a personal vendetta against Jaune. Which means she may just kill him swiftly or find a fate wore than death for him. All I can say Pyrrha, is that Jaune doesn't realize just how much danger he and RNJR are in. Especially after the stunt he pulled in Lilly's house. Salem now is keeping her eye on him, and for both his sake and RNJR's sake, they better hope that Salem doesn't have any more tricks up her sleeve," said Ozpin with a dark expression as he looked at RNJR make their way into a village.

Pyrrha continued to cry as she silently prayed to Oum for Jaune to make it through his mission alive, and that she might one day be reunited with him.

* * *

 **Chapter four. I'm over a week late on posting this, sorry, but I had a feeling this could haopen, and that's why I didn't make any promises. Well this one is about three thousand five hundred words, again not so sure why I am all over the place with chapter lengths. Next one will be longer than this, I can say that for sure. And in case you didn't read the update, this week I am going to release a new chapter everyday. So that means that six new chapters will be up in the next six days. So, be sure to tune in tomorrow, and until then, don't be afraid to leave a review, or follow and favorite.**


	5. Frozen in Time

Chapter 5:

RNJR made their way into the village. "According to the map, we are in Guardian Rock," said Jaune as he tried to examine the rock.

"Why's is called that?" asked Nora.

"Apparently the rock in the center of this village saved them from a Grimm attack a hundred or so years ago, so they named the town after it," answered Ren.

"So where is it?" asked Nora. The other all started to look around and discovered that there was no rock to be seen.

"Maybe it's smaller than we thought and just in the center of the village?" suggested Jaune.

"Maybe," said a skeptical Ren. As the four continued down the main road in the village, they walked into the middle of the marketplace. It wasn't very busy, with only about ten to fifteen people being on the street. There were small little street vendor shops on either side of them. As they made their way further, they walked into a plaza with a large cross in the center. This was no ordinary cross however. It had three horizontal lines instead of two. And unlike most crosses, was jet black. It stood about thirty feet tall.

"why does that cross seem so familiar?" asked Ruby out loud. She looked to her left and saw Ren and Nora taking the seen in. When she looked to her right however, she saw that Jaune had made his way over to one of the street shops. She started making her way over to joining him, but caught something out of the corner of her eye. Up the street she saw someone intensely staring at her. Ruby put her hand up and waved meekly at the person. It was an older woman, with a very wrinkled face, wearing a black robe. But the thing that stuck out to Ruby were the eyes. Soulless and dead staring into her very soul. Then just as quickly as she appeared, the woman ran off into an alley. Ruby shivered. She looked forward and saw Jaune making his way towards her.

"Thanks again!" Jaune cried over his shoulder. He quickly approached Ruby and said to her, "So it turns out this a town called Roanoak. Guardian Rock is another six miles up the road."

"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense," said Ruby. "Though I think we should probably stay the night here."

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing. The guy directed me to a local Inn. He also told me that the village is apparently celebrating the coming of Spring with a Festival." said Jaune.

"Oh a festival! Can stay around Jaune? Please! We haven't gotten the chance to do anything like that since we left! It could be fun!" squealed Ruby letting her inner child show. Jaune just laughed and ruffled her hair, "Sure we can stay ya big dork. Who know, we might actually have a good time." Ruby just huffed and pouted at Jaune, which just made him laugh even harder.

* * *

About half an hour later, RNJR went and rented rooms at the local in. They got two rooms, with guys in one and girls in the other. The rooms were your typical Inn room, with two beds, a desk, bathroom, closet and two armchairs. The rooms had an old fashioned feel to them with the woodcut bed frames and log cabin wallpaper. They could tell that a lot of work had been put into making these rooms. Jaune plopped right down on his bed and started explaining the plan to Ren.

"So then once their festival is over we'll go to Guardian Rock, get what supplies we couldn't here, and make our way towards the next village after that."

"Alright, whats suppose to go on at this festival?" asked Ren as he sat in one of the armchairs.

"No idea, truth be told I'm only staying for this because it will make Ruby happy," said Jaune. Ren just smiled, "You really do care about her, don't you?" Jaune sat up and glared at Ren.

"Don't get any funny ideas there pal, she like the little sister I never had." Ren just laughed, "I know I know, don't worry. Its just cute, thats all." He was promptly met with a pillow to the face.

In Ruby and Nora's room, the two were discussing their plans for the festival, "Do you think there'll be funnel cakes?! Or cotton candy?! Or, or ah pancakes?!" asked Nora with drool coming out of her mouth.

"I don't know Nora! But its gonna be so much fun! I'm so happy Jaune decided to stay for this!" cried a giddy Ruby. Ruby looked over at the clock and saw it was about seven thirty, "Well, I think I'm gonna go to sleep, night Nora" said Ruby as she quickly changed into her pajamas using her semblance. Nora just laughed and followed her lead.

* * *

Ruby slowly awoke and saw that the clock read 12:45 PM. _Huh, guess I haven't gotten the chance to sleep in for a while_ thought Ruby as she slowly rose up. She looked over and saw that Nora was still sleeping. She carefully got up trying not to wake Nora and changed into her combat gear. She left Crescent Rose behind and made her way into the village. However, when she got to the marketplace, she noticed something odd. There was nobody there. Like nobody at all, nobody in the street, or in the shops, it was almost as if there was nobody in the town at all. _What the hell? Its one o'clock on a Friday, were is everyone?_ as she continued to roam the streets, she became more and more concerned.

"Psst, hey!" This snapped Ruby out of her thoughts and she turned to see who had called her. She was able to make out the silhouette of a person crouching in a darkened alley way. She slowly approached them, "um, hello? You wanted to see me?" The person suddenly lashed out and grabbed Ruby's wrist and pulled her close. Ruby gasped as she realized who it was, the old woman from yesterday.

"Leave my dear child! Leave while you and your friends still can! This is a village of death!" the old woman warned.

"What? Why?" asked a shaken Ruby. The old women didn't respond. She just let go of Ruby and ran down the alley way. Ruby tried to catch her, she even used her semblance, but the old woman lost her. She returned to the marketplace to see it was now alive with people. She slowly made her way back to the plaza and took a seat on one of the benches facing the cross. _"This is a village of death" what could she possibly mean by that?_ Ruby looked up at the cross again, _Gah! And why does that seem so familiar to me? Think Ruby! Think!_

"Hey Ruby!" Ruby was again quickly brought back to reality and turned to see Jaune and Ren approaching her. "Oh, hey guys!" she said. The two sat down next to her, with Jaune asking, "So what have you been up to today?"

"Oh nothing much, just took a quick little walk around the town before I came here, what about you two?"

"We just woke up and made our way out here to find you, wheres Nora?" asked Jaune.

"Here!" cried out Nora directly behind Jaune. Jaune cried out and fell out of his seat with Nora laughing hysterically over her fallen leader. Jaune just groaned and got back into his seat. "Anyways, I saw a really cute shop down the way! Come on Ren!" said enthusiastic Nora.

"Nora I really don't" started Ren before she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down the street. Jaune just laughed as he watched the two go, "That poor bastard, haha." He looked over at Ruby and saw a weird look on her face. "Hey, is everything alright Ruby?"

Ruby just looked up at Jaune and said, "I don't think we should stay for the festival." Jaune arched an eyebrow, "Whats brought on this sudden change of heart?" asked Jaune.

"Something that an old woman told me, and, and that damn cross! I don't know why but I feel like I've seen it somewhere before." said Ruby.

Jaune turned and looked at the cross to, "You know, now that you mention it it does look kind of familiar. But from where could we have seen it?" asked Jaune as he to thought.

Ruby suddenly shot up to her feet and looked at the ground with a grim expression, "Ruby! Whats wrong?!" asked a worried Jaune.

"Jaune, I remember where I've seen that cross. We need to leave, now." said Ruby who was still staring at the ground.

"Wait Ruby, where have you" _Wssh Wssh!_ "Gah!" cried out Ruby and Jaune together as they felt something dig into their arms. Jaune quickly grabbed and pulled out the object. It appeared to be a dart to him. Suddenly the world began to spin. "Ruuuby?" asked a droopy Jaune as he suddenly toppled over in front of Ruby. Ruby looked up to see fuzzy images of a crowd closing in on them. Soon, all she saw was black.

* * *

Weiss was sitting at home working, or rather imprisoned behind a desk located at her home managing her fathers expenses. After the fall of Beacon, her dad had made her quite her dream of becoming a Huntress and imprisoned her to a desk job. Weiss hated it. She hated every moment of every day of her job. She longed to be back at Beacon with the teachers, with Team JNPR, with Team RWBY, with her partner Ruby Rose. Weiss felt a warm tingly feeling in her chest when she thought of Ruby. _Gah! The heck was that? Get a grip Weiss, you just miss your bestfriend, yeah thats all, you just miss your friend_. She could feel her stomach churn at that word, friend. Yet she still had no idea why she felt this way whenever she thought of her partner.

"Weiss!" she was snapped out of her thoughts by her Dad's call.

"Yes father!" said Weiss as the quickly stood up to address her Dad.

"I'm here to get the files on our deal with the Acadia Dust Company," her father said not even looking her in the eyes but rather down at his scroll.

"Yes, here you are," she said as she retrieved them from a drawer in her desk. Her father didn't even acknowledge her and just grabbed the file and left. Weiss just went back to work.

After a few hours she returned to her room, her day of work complete. Weiss looked in the mirror and frowned. Unlike Yang, Weiss had actually gained weight. Though this was to be expected. She did after all live in a mansion with the most luxurious of food that could be served to her whenever she pleased. On top of the fact that her father forbid her to practice or workout at all saying that, _"A heir has no need for such things. If we want anything that would involve physical work we could just hire a Faunas. Oum knows those animals will do anything for a few bucks."_ Weiss scoffed at the thought. Unlike her Dad, she held no resentment towards the Faunas. Or at least, not anymore after she meet Blake, and Velvet. She had tried to tell her Dad of the Faunas friends she had made. But he just laughed it off and said that it further made him glad he took her out of Beacon when he did.

Weiss went and laid on her bed. She looked at the wall across from her and saw Myrtenaster hanging on the wall infront of her. Weiss was thankful that her father had at least let her keep that as a memento. She then turned and looked at the picture sitting on the nightstand beside her. It was the group photo Team RWBY had taken just days after they had stopped Roman Torchwick and the White Fang from bombing Vale. Weiss reached out and grabbed the picture. She started to cry as she looked at it and brought it close to her chest. _As much as I want it to go back to normal, it can't. Things will never be the same again, never be the same_ thought Weiss as she sobbed in her bed over her fallen team.

* * *

Ruby awoke with a start and quickly took in her surroundings. She was in a dimly lit room. It had brown walls that appeared to be made of wood. It was a dirt floor with a large metal door. She tried to run to it, only to discover that she was chained to the wall. She whirled around to see a chain wrapped around her foot, and connected to a metal slab in the wall. She then saw three other chains and found the three people connected to them. She rushed over and tried to shake Jaune awake, "Jaune! Jaune you have to get up! Jaune!" Ruby quickly slapped him across the face and he bolted up.

"Ow! Ruby what was that for?!" said Jaune as he rubbed his face. He quickly took in his surroundings to joined Ruby in trying to wake their fallen teammates. After they woke Nora and Ren up they tried to figure out what had happened, "Whats the last thing you two remember?" asked Jaune.

"Well, we were looking at some really cute animal statues, when suddenly we heard something wiz at us, then next thing we know, we're here!" said Nora. Ren just nodded in agreement.

"Well, we only got knocked out after I recognized Salem's cross. That must have been what triggered it," said Ruby.

"Alright, we know the what and the how, but that still leaves us with why we are here, who did this, and where we are," said Jaune.

"Hey, someone was here before us," said Ren as he examined the ground.

"How can you tell?" asked Ruby.

"It looks like someone was clawing at the ground, trying to get away from someone. I can see marks in the ground that looks like there was a struggle." said Ren as he continued to examine the dirt before him.

"Does it look like they had small hands,maybe those of a kid?"asked Nora. Ren perked his head up confused that Nora could figure something like that out without seeing the marks.

"Yeah, how did you?..." asked Ren before Nora just pointed to a corner. Jaune Ruby and Ren looked to see a set of bloodied clothe lying there. The cloths were a red t-shirt with a yellow star in the middle with a pair of grey jeans. The other set of cloths was a hoodie with white and green graffiti designs painted all across it with a black background, as well as a pair of neon shorts.

"Those two kids that went missing in Guardian Rock," said Nora. The others just looked and figured out not only where the kids went, but the fate they met.

"We have to get out of here," said Jaune as he stood up and tried to come up with a plan. Suddenly the door shot open and eight men walked inside. Four of the were carrying metal rods with a leash at the end, while the other four were carrying taser stick. Before Jaune could even question the men, one of them zapped him. Jaune fell to the ground as the electricity coursed through him. The man slapped a pair of handcuffs on him and tied him to the end of the leash. Ruby quickly leaned over to Nora and whispered something in her ear before she and Nora both were also stunned and cuffed. Soon all four were at the end of the leashes and were being escorted down the shopping street. Ruby noticed that everyone she saw were wearing black robes with the cross painted in red on the front of the hoods. The four were stopped infront of the cross and forced to their knees. A few of the robed individuals brought RNJR's bags and weapons and laid them infront of the cross. Soon, a man in a red robe with a black cross stood infront of the four.

"Welcome Huntsmen to the end of the line!"

"Who are you people?" asked Jaune. The man standing next to him quickly delivered a backhand to the knight.

"We will do the talking. However, to answer you're question, we are the Cult of Salem! We live to serve our Mistress, and by sacrificing you four, we shall gain her favor and be able to be unbound from this time and join her in the Kingdom of Grimm!" The rest of the crowd all cheered.

"Now then, let us begin! Priest, grab the dagger!" And man in a white robe with a black cross appeared carrying a small box. The Red Robe opened the box to reveal a curved dagger, about fifteen inches in length. All the other individuals dropped to their knees and began bowing to the cross. The Red Robe got on his knees to and held the dagger above his head, "Hear me Mistress, with this dagger we shall give you fresh blood. And blood of Huntsmen at that. And at the stoke of midnight, these four shall be brought to justice for their acts against your children."

"GXRKB XKA ORYV YBZLJB DOFJJ CRPFLKP! GXRKB XKA ORYV YBZLJB DOFJJCRPFLKP!" the crowd started to chant in tonge. The Red Robe got up and approached Nora.

"Now Nora!" cried Ruby. Nora suddenly shot up and pulled her arms out, breaking the handcuffs. She then grabbed her collar and ripped it off, and grabbed the metal rode and slammed the Red robe in the side of the head with it. She quickly whirled around and hit her handler as well. She then rushed over and grabbed Magnhild and shot off grenades into the crowd. They cried out in shock and scattered, trying to escape the pink explosions. She tossed her teams weapons at then and broke their handcuffs.

"Nora that was incredible, how did you know to do that?" asked Jaune as he strapped on his shield and readied his sword.

Nora just smiled _"Nora, wait until I say know to activate your semblance_ _"_ _whispered Ruby_. "I'll tell you later, right now, lets just get out of here."

"Alright," said Jaune as he went to go grab his bag. As he reached foward, a gunshot was fired and struck Ruby's bag. The ammunition in Ruby's bag went off and shot Jaune back.

"Jaune! You okay?" asked Ruby. Jaune just rubbed his head, "Yeah, I'll be alright." RNJR looked to see that Ruby's bag was completly destroyed and the explosion had started a fire on the cross. Jaune, Nora, and Ren quickly grabbed their bags before they were consumed by the flames. When they looked at the black robbed people, they noticed they were frozen like statues.

"What the hell do you think is up with them?" asked Jaune as he readied himself for battle.

"I don't know," said Ruby as she also prepared herself for the fight to come.

"Wait, are they shaking?" asked Ren. The others looked and saw that Ren was indeed right, all of the individuals were shaking.

"FIRE!" one of the screamed out in fear. Suddenly they all began running around in a mad panic, screaming in terror.

"They're scared of fire?" asked Ruby.

"We can work with that, Nora! Blast the wooden buildings!" ordered Jaune.

"On it!" cried Nora as she began firing on the old wooden buildings. Soon, the town was engulfed in flames.

"OOOUUUHHHH!"

"What was that?" asked Jaune. Suddenly the team watched as a pack of Beowolves flooded the village, killing all those in their way.

"What do we do?" asked Nora as she fired of some shot keeping the pack away.

"We run! They must have been attracted to the fear. Between the Robes and Wolves we're outmatched. So lets make a break for it!" said Jaune as he began running towards the exit of the village. The others followed his lead and made a break for it. After they left the village, they kept running until they thought they were a far enough distance away. When they looked back, they saw a horrifying sight. They could make out a bright orange light in the distance and hear the vague screams of the occupants.

"In the end, they very thing they stood to protect, was what ultimately brought them to their end," said Ren as he looked at the burning town. The others just stood their silently before making their way towards Guardian Rock, and away from the burning Village of Ronoak.

* * *

RNJR arrived at Guardian Rock as the sun began to rise. They immediately went to the local Inn and went to rent a room.

"You four look like hell! What happened?" asked the desk clerk.

"We just escaped that town down the road, Ronoak." said Ruby.

"What town?" asked the clerk.

"The one not six miles from here!" protested Jaune.

"Son, there's no town down there, there hasn't been for nearly two hundred fifty years." said the clerk.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ren.

"Here, follow me," said the clerk as he made his way over to the bookcase adjacent from the front desk. He picked up a thick brown book labeled "A History of Guardian Rock" he flipped through some pages before he laid the book down infront of team RNJR. "Here take a look for your self." The four teens looked and were shocked by what they read.

 _"The Lost Town of Ronoak"  
_ _The Town of Ronoak was established just ten years after the Great Grimm War. This town would be the humble beginning of Guardian Rock. The town was a simple and rustic settler town. It lasted for one hundred years. Soon the neighboring city of Guardian Rock was created. But then one day, the entire population of the town disappeared. Without a single trace. It was as if they vanished into thin air. It is still unknown what happened to the town's people. The picture on the right is of the town founder, Janice Parker standing next to the town cross._

All color in Ruby's face left when she gazed at the picture. In it was a regular withe cross with one horizontal line. But that wasn't the part that petrified Ruby. It was the person standing in the picture.

"The old lady," she murmured.

"What was that Ruby?" asked Jaune as he continued to read about the city.

"Oh nothing!" lied Ruby. Jaune didn't notice. After the four were done, the rented rooms and turned in for the night.

Ruby was staring out her window looking down at the street below.

"Ruby! I'm gonna take a quick shower!" cried Nora from the bathroom. Ruby looked over her shoulder and replied "Okay!" When she looked back at the empty street she saw a figure standing in the middle, looking up at Ruby. Ruby's eyes widened as she opened the window and stuck her head out.

"Thank You!" she cried out to the old woman. She saw the older woman flash a small smile and nodded at Ruby. Ruby felt a gust of wind and watched the old woman turn into dust and be carried away by the breeze.

"What did you say?" asked Nora as she popped her head out the bathroom door.

"Oh just screaming into the night!" replied Ruby with a big smile.

"Okay, just being sure," said Nora before she disappeared back into the bathroom. Ruby just smiled and crawled into bed, wondering what might of happened had her team actually gone to the Spring Festival.

* * *

 **And done. Well I did keep my word, this one was a little longer than the last. Not too much, but still. The next one will probably be around this length. I based the town of Ronoak after the real life Lost Colony of Ronoak that in 1590 was found competently deserted with no explanation as to why they left or where they went. The only thing left behind was a a carving of the word"CROATOAN" in a fence post outside the colony. And still to this day, nobody 100% knows what happened to the people of that colony.** **Next chapter up tomorrow, till then, don't be afraid to leave a follow, favorite, or review!**


	6. Memories

Chapter 6:

RNJR was sitting around a campfire. They had left Guardian Rock two days ago and completely restocked on everything they would need for the rest of the trip to Haven. The topic of their pasts had come up, and they were discussing that.

"When did me and Ren meet?" asked Nora.

"Well, as you know, we both use to live in the same village, but we didn't meet until that fateful day..."

 _15 years ago..._

A four year old Nora and her parents were running through the fiery remains of their village. Screams and howls filled the air. "Mommy, are we gonna be okay?" asked toddler Nora, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"We'll be fine baby don't worry," said her Dad as he rushed his family towards the village center.

"Look, the cheifs hut, if we can just get in there we can," started Nora's mother before they watched in horror as a Beowolf smashed through the front door, with the bloody corpse of the village Hunter in its mouth. Nora saw this and began to cry, drawing the wolf's attention towards them.

"Shit, Ellen, take Nora and run, I'll try to hold the beast off," said her Dad.

"But John, you'll be," started Ellen before John cut her off with a kiss.

"I know, just go, save yourselves!" John picked up a large piece of wood and charged at the Beowolf. Ellen just turned down the street and ran clutching Nora tight as she heard the screams of her husband behind her. She continued to run before she heard a voice, "Hey! Come in here! Hurry!" Ellen turned to see a partially damaged house with a women with black hair waving her in. Ellen quickly ran into the house and the woman locked the door behind her. She went into the living room to see a small boy with long black hair, about the same age as Nora sitting on a couch, tears streaming down his face as well. The woman quickly joined the trio, "Are you okay?" she asked.

"We are now, thank you, my name is Ellen Valkyrie." said Ellen with an extended hand.

"Mia, Mia Ren," said Mia.

"Nice to meet you Mia, this is my daughter Nora, say hi Nora," said Ellen as she lightly bounced Nora in her arms.

"H-hi," said the shy toddler.

"It very nice to meet you Nora, how old are you?" asked Mia.

"Fow," replied Nora.

"Well what a coincidence, my son Lie over there is the same age as you, why don't you two go get to know eachother?" said Mia. Ellen brought Nora over to the couch Ren was on and placed her next to him.

"Hi, I'm Nowa," said Nora.

"I'm Wen," said Ren as they to shook hands like the adults. As the two toddlers talked, over in the next room, Mia and Ellen discussed what they were going to do.

"We can just wait here till Don fights them off and," started Mia before Ellen cut her off.

"Mia, Don's dead, I saw it with my own eyes, we're on our own." said Ellen.

"Oh," said Mia as she just stared at the ground, fear building up in her body. "Well, w-what do we do?"

"I don't know, maybe we could-"

 **BANG BANG BANG**

The two women shrieked in fright as Grimm began to pound on the door. "They found us! What do we do?!" cried out Ellen. Mia looked at her with an strange mixture of determination and sorrow.

"Ellen, we won't make out, but the kids might."

"How?" asked Ellen with tears of her own now streaming down her face.

"There is a secret room that my husband made, if we hide the kids there and distract the Grimm, theres a chance they won't find them," answered Mia with tears. Ellen just cried more but nodded her head in agreement. The two mothers rushed into the living room and picked up their children, "Mom, where aw we going?" asked Ren.

"Some where safe honey, somewhere safe," said Mia as she planted a kiss on his head. The women ran into the master bedroom, "Its over here," said Mia as she ran into the walk-in closet. At the back of it there was a pile of cloths that Mia moved. Underneath was a hatch that lead to a small panic room. The mothers stood their children infront of them.

"Listen Nora, I'm gonna need you to be brave okay, Ren here is going to keep you company, okay," said Ellen wiping tears away from her face.

"But what abowt you?" whined a still teary Nora.

"Mommy has to go, and you won't see her again, but just remember that, that, Mommy always loves you, okay?" said Ellen as she cried profusely. She embraced Nora into a hug.

"Ren, I need you to be brave, okay? You're gonna be with Nora, and shes gonna need someone to comfort her, do you think you can do that my big strong man?" asked Mia.

"B-but what about you?" asked Ren.

"Mom has to go keep you guys safe, we probably won't see eachother again, but its okay, just know that I love you, and Dad loves you. We'll see eachother again, it won't be for a while, but we'll meet again, now go," said Mia as she embraced her child one last time and planted on final kiss on him. The mothers lowered their children into the room.

"Now no matter what you hear from us, stay in here. Someone will come looking for you guys, until then, stay here, and stay safe," said Mia.

"'I love you'" said the two mothers in unison. Ren and Nora clutched eachother tight as they watched Mia close the hatch...

* * *

"We sat there for hours until a local team of Hunters found us. After that we got put into an orphanage, but made a vow that day that no matter what, we would be best friends," said Ren as he pulled Nora into a hug.

"Wow, thats pretty intense guys," said Jaune.

"Yeah," agreed Ruby.

"But enough about us! Tell us about your childhood Ruby. What was it like to be the child protege?" asked Nora bombastically.

"Well, it wasn't like you'd think it was, as you guys all probably know, my Uncle Qrow trained me to fight. Ever since I was seven years old, I would get up early to train with him before he would have to leave to go teach at Beacon. This went on for years until he started to go do missions for Ozpin, and would leave for months at a time. But by then I was already accepted into Signal." Ruby rubbed the back of her head nervously, "I didn't really fit in with most the kids. They saw me as weird, or too good. I think I might have just intimidated them. Though what isn't there to be intimidated by this?!" asked Ruby as she stood up, fists at hips, puffing her chest up to look big and strong. Jaune, Nora, and Ren all just chuckled as Ruby got back to her story.

"Yeah, I spent most of t my tme there training, unlike Yang. She was the most popular girl when she went to combat school. My Dad had to keep the guys away from her. But I just kept training, getting stronger and stronger, until eventually Ozpin meet me and offered me a place at Beacon."

"You know, somehow that makes a lot of sense," said Jaune after listening to the Reaper's story.

"Yeah, but what about you Jaune? What was it like living in the legendary Arc household!?" asked Ruby.

"Well, its not all it was cracked out to be." said Jaune with a downcast expression.

"Whatta you mean by that?" asked Nora.

"Well, as you guys know my family has a long history of great Hunters, and then theres me.", said Jaune as he looked to the ground. "I didn't exactly have an easy upbringing. My Dad constantly worked, so I hardly ever got to really see him, let alone spend time together. Then my Mom wasn't exactly parent of the year. As you know, I have seven older sisters, but after sister number four, she gave up. She said that it was "too much for her" and that "we had no idea what she had to go through". So my older sisters raised me and my other sisters as best they could, but they still had lives and had to go on with them. Eventually it became me, my twin sister Joan, Shelly, and Rachel. I was about eight at the time, and thats when my Mom picked up the bottle. She would spend her days sleeping and drinking, leaving me and my sisters to fend for ourselves. Thats why I know all those weird housekeeping skills like cooking, massaging, and other things. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to."

Ruby, Nora, and Ren all looked at Jaune with sorrowed expressions.

"So is that why you didn't have any formal training?" asked Ruby.

Jaune looked up at her with a sad smile, "Yeah, my parents didn't have the time to send to combat school. Then, by some miracle I got into Beacon, and I thought my life would change. And it did. I meet you guys, and Pyrrha, and all my other friends. And for a while it seemed that everything in life was going right for a change. Then Cinder showed up and everything went to shit."

"Don't give up Jaune! We'll beat her, then things can go back to some kind of normal!" said a very optimistic Nora. Jaune gave her a smile, "I know Nora, thats what keeps me going."

"Well, its getting late, I'm going to sleep. Ruby I believe you have first watch," said Ren as he stretched and started to depart to his tent.

"Yeah I got it, night Ren! Night Nora! Jaune I'll wake you in four hours," said Ruby.

"alright, see you then Ruby." said Jaune as he also retreated into his tent.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 done. This one was a writer's block paradise! (If paradise was on fire and in hell). Next chapter up tomorrow!**


	7. Invincible

**Chapter 7**

Jaune sat there on his knees, bruised, bloody, and beaten. He looked over to see the horror on his teammates faces as they sat there, paralyzed, forced to watch Jaune try and fight for not only his life but theirs.

"Well Arc, you put up a valiant fight, but in the end, you lose. Just like how you lost Pyrrha Nikos. She might have gotten to feel the touch of a real man, and not a boy like you." said Jaune's assailant.

Jaune's eyes lit up as he heard these words. His attacker noticed Jaune suddenly tense up at his words. "Oh, I seem to have touched a nerve there. Lets see just how much further I can go. You Jaune Arc are a failure and a disgrace to the Arc lineage. You're weak, slow, and uncoordinated. Now you have courage, I will give you that. But courage is useless without the proper skills to back it up. Something your bitch partner learned the hard way. Some champion she turned out to be. All hype, but do not worry, you and the Uninvincible Girl will both be reunited, and both be remembered in history as failures."

Jaune began to shake in anger. "Haha, goodbye Jaune Arc." The shadowy attacker raised his sword above his shoulder, and swung down towards Jaune's neck to deliver the final, and deadly blow.

* * *

 _24 Hours Earlier..._

RNJR had just arrived to their next destination. A small Village by the name of Schatten. It was a relatively small village, about two square miles big with a large stone castle on a hill behind the village looking down upon it. "Alright, so I'm thinking that we stop here for the night, restock, and try and make our way towards..." started Jaune before he was interrupted by a loud scream coming from the next street over. RNJR rushed to find a Deathstalker Major in the middle of the town.

"How in the world did that get here?" asked Ruby as she pulled out Cresent Rose.

"That doesn't matter now, just kill it," said Ren as he and Nora unleashed multiple rounds onto the large Grimm. It cried out in surprise and turned its attention away from the villagers, and onto the four young hunters. Jaune and Ruby charged towards it, both slashing at its arms. However as Ruby was about to slash it, the Grimm suddenly shot its arm down, sending a shock-wave that launched Ruby up and over the Grimm. Jaune brought his sword back and lunged it directly into the Grimm's arm, only for it to bounce off like he hit a wall, leaving barley a scratch.

 _Uh oh,_ thought Jaune before the Grimm knocked him into a shop. Jaune smashed through the glass and hit the back wall hard. He quickly got up and turned to the shopkeeper, standing stunned behind his counter too fearful to move. He looked out to see the Grimm turn its attention towards Ren and Nora, when suddenly a black figure landed on top of the creatures back. The Deathstalker brought its arm up to try and knock him off, only for the figure to take his sword and stab it into the Grimm's arm, cutting it off in one clean motion. He then took his sword and stabbed it through the Grimm's head, killing the creature.

 _How in the heck did he do that?_ thought Jaune. _My sword just bounced off, but his cut through it like it was made of wet paper._ Jaune got up and approached the mysterious figure, along with the rest of RNJR. As Jaune got closer, he saw that the figure had long green hair that was put into a ponytail. He wore a black robe with gold buttons down the middle with a gold trim around the cuff of his hands and neck. His sword was a medium sized rapier sword with a twisted curved ball design just above the hilt. The mystery man sheathed his sword and turned around to face team RNJR.

"Greetings fellow hunters, my name is Lucius. What are yours?" asked Lucius with a bright smile and an outstretched hand.

"Hi, I'm Jaune, this is Ren, Nora, and over there is Ruby Ruby," said Jaune as he shook Lucius's hand.

"Good to meet you four. So, what brings you to the town of Schatten?" asked Lucius.

"We're making our way towards Haven, and are just stopping here for the night," said Ruby as she rejoined the group.

"Do you know of any good Inns we might stay at?" asked Ren.

"An Inn, nonsense! Heroes like you deserve the best, why don't you stay with me at my house?" said Lucius.

"Which one's your's?" asked Jaune.

"That one," replied Lucius as he pointed to the large stone castle.

"You live in a castle?!" exclaimed Nora.

"Yeah, come on I'll explain on the way." As team RNJR made their way towards the castle, they did not notice the look of sorrow all the villagers carried as they watched them go.

* * *

Lucius explained to the team how he was the village hunter and watched over the small town as they were very pron to Grimm attacks as they had seen today. He also went on to tell them how in appreciation for what he did, the village built him this castle. The team went up the steps and to the front door. They were greeted to a beautiful wooden oak door with golden hinges and metal trims.

"Wow! This place is huge!" cried Ruby in awe as RNJR continued deeper into the castle. Lucius continued to guide them down the large stone passage.

"Yes, yes, I get that a lot."

"From who?" questioned Jaune. Lucius turned to look at Jaune. If Jaune didn't know any better, he'd say that there was a look of hate in his eyes for a split second.

"Oh I get lots of Hunters here. Given how remote this village is, many Hunters come to rest up and get more supplies for their journey. Now, you all must be famished, come let us eat!" said Lucius as they five entered another room. It was clearly a dinning room with a very large table in the center with a feast laid out. Nora and Ruby drooled from the mouth and quickly took their seats. Jaune and Ren just laughed at their teammates antics and grabbed their seats to. Lucius sat at the head of the table, while Nora and Ruby took the left side, and Jaune and Ren took the right. There was a large variety of food laid out across the table, from turkey, to potatoes, ham and steak, peas and beans. It was like a Christmas dinner.

"Please, eat all that you can!" said Lucius as he began to cut himself a piece of turkey.

"What is this stuff?" asked Ruby as she took a sip from the chalice next to her plate.

"Oh that Red Wine that I make from the orchard in my backyard.

"This is wine? Uh, do you have anything else to drink?" asked Jaune as he pulled the chalice away deciding not to take a drink of it.

"Are you sure? I put a lot of time into making it," said Lucius.

"Yeah, I'm sure, sorry, I don't drink, even if its for a special occasion," said Jaune, causing the rest of RNJR to look down, remembering what Jaune had disclosed to them around the fire. Jaune looked at Lucius and saw that same look before it was suddenly replaced with a smile.

"Don't worry about it Jaune, not all Hunter I've treated here wanted wine either. I can send one of my servers to get you some water or something."

"I'll be alright, I got some right here," said Jaune as he pulled a bottle out of his bag.

"oh," said Lucius as he just continued to eat his meal. After about half an hour, he and RNJR finished what they could, with Nora and Ruby being the to primary consumers.

"Welp! I'm stuffed!" said Nora as she leaned back and laid her hands over her stomach.

"Allow me to show you to your rooms," said Lucius as he got up from his seat.

"You guys go ahead, I think I'm gonna go for a walk real quick," said Jaune as he got up and made his way back to the entrance. He looked at Lucius and saw that same hateful look for a split second, before it vanished yet again.

"Alright, go right a ahead, and be careful."

"Thanks, I will," said Jaune as an uneasy feeling came over him after hearing Lucius's words.

* * *

Jaune made his way down to the village and was walking down the street that the Deathstalker was on earlier. As he was going, he kept on noticing the villagers were giving looks of either surprise, or what appeared to be sorrow. Jaune approached the shop that he had been launched into earlier. The shopkeeper was trying to hammer in some nails for planks of wood that covered his now broken window. He was struggling to keep the wood up though as he was trying to use his knee to keep it level allowing him to use both his hands.

"Here, let me help," said Jaune as he quickly held the wooden plank up.

"Thanks," said the shopkeeper as he finished hammering in the nails. After he finished he climbed down his ladder and shook Jaune's hand. "Thanks my boy." Then all of a sudden the keeper did a double take, "Wait! You're that Hunter from earlier! You escaped!"

"Yeah I'm the one from earli- wait what do you mean I escaped?" asked Jaune.

"You went with him, and you still live to tell about it!" cried the shopkeeper.

"Him? You mean Lucius?" responded Jaune.

The shopkeeper looked down and said, "Listen, we get plenty of Hunter in this village. But none of them ever live long enough. That monster in that castle up there, he invites them in, and they are never seen again. None of us ever try and stop him, all we can do is look on in sorrow. But you, you some how escaped him!"

Jaune couldn't believe what he just heard, panic began to set in, "My friends are still up there!" cried Jaune. Jaune looked down at the keeper, "I need to go, thank you," said Jaune as he shook the shopkeeper's hand one last time and bolted the other direction.

"May Oum protect your soul," said the shopkeeper as he gave a silent prayer for Jaune.

* * *

Jaune rushed back to the castle as fast as he could go. He had to get back before Lucius could kill them. _I won't fail my team, not again!_ Jaune approached the large oak doors and burst through them.

"HEEEEELLLPPP!" cried out a voice.

Jaune ran towards it and found himself back in the dining room. Only now the large fireplace was about six feet to the left, revealing a hidden passage way. Jaune readied his sword and shied and approached the entrance. It was a large black marble staircase that winded down. After what felt like ten flight of stairs, Jaune entered a large open room. It was made of old stone and was lit by torches all along the wall. The room had no features, apart from one piece of furniture. It was an alter that sat infront of an all too familiar cross. He looked to the left side of the wall to see Ruby, Ren, and Nora all lying on the ground, motionless, but with their eyes open. Lucius stood facing the cross, with his hands together, praying.

"What the hell?" said Jaune silently to himself.

"Oh, there you are Jaune, I was wondering when you would show up!" said Lucius as he quickly whirled around to face Jaune.

"What is this Lucius! And what have you done to my friends!" cried Jaune.

"I suppose your gonna die anyway, so you might as well know the truth. You see Jaune, I lied to you about my age. I am not in fact twenty five years old, but four hundred and twenty-five years old!" claimed Lucius as he raised his hand above his head to exemplify his point.

"What?! How?!"

"Its simple Jaune. You see, many moons ago, just after the Great Grimm War, I came to this village to seek a new life. I wanted riches, and power. But I was deceived, the prosperous village I was promised was the shithole of a town in the middle of bumfuck nowhere! One day as I was hunting Grimm, she approached me."

"Salem" said Jaune.

"Ah! So you two have met! Yes the newly created Mistress of the Grimm came to me, and offered me power and riches beyond my wildest dreams! And after the Hunters lied to me, I was eager to accept. The was only two catches, I was to be her loyal servant, and serve her diligently. I became her Black Bishop. The other catch was the hard part. You see, there is only one way she can keep me alive for all these years. Every year, I must sacrifice a Hunter in order for the spell to continue. I usually get one to two Hunters every few months or so, and lead them here. However, I have hit a bit of a dry spell recently. Actually, today is the last day I can sacrifice a Hunter in order to stay alive if my memory serves me right. But I now know why I have gone so long without a Hunter coming to this village, and it is you four. Your friends over there will give me another few years. But you Jaune Arc, you will easily give me another decade!" proclaimed Lucius.

"What do you mean, how on Remnant could my life be worth more then theirs?" asked Jaune.

"Simple, your name. You know of the legends of the Arc's, and how your ancestor sacrificed himself to save mankind. By sacrificing you, Salem will easy be able to grant me ten times the years. Oh, and in case you are wondering what happened to your friends, I poisoned their drinks. It was in the wine, that you so heroically refused to drink. The poison won't kill them, just leave them paralyzed for another few hours, plenty of time for me to kill you, and them." said Lucius. He them grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, pointing the rapier directly at Jaune. "Now Jaune Arc, come, and show me what you can do!"

Jaune readied himself for the fight as Lucius charged at him. Lucius immediately sent a powerful blow towards Jaune. Jaune barley had time to life his shield up to block it. Lucius carried so much force that the hit actually knocked Jaune off his feet and sent him flying into the wall. Jaune hit hard and fell to the floor.

"Haha, I may not have a semblance thanks to Salem's spell, but that doesn't mean I've lost my strength. In fact, I've been building it up for over three centuries." said Lucius as he lunged at Jaune again. Jaune quickly rolled out of the narrowly missing Lucius's attack. His sword dug into the stone wall, and Jaune saw his opportunity to attack. He charged froward, sword in the air ready to strike down. But, just as he was about to strike, Lucius suddenly turned and backhanded Jaune, sending him flying across the room, and landing hard against the alter.

"Jaune!" cried out Ruby in fear with tears in her eyes. Jaune slowly got up and struggled to regain his balance. Lucius pulled out his sword and approached Jaune. Jaune brought his weapon up to try and defend himself, but Lucius lashed out with two devastating strikes. The first knocking Jaune's sword out of his hand, the other slashing him across the stomach, drawing blood. _How did he do that?! My aura isn't out!_

"Haha, I can see by the look on your face you're wondering just how I did that. You see, my sword is a very special one, made completely of Grimm essence. It can ignore aura, and cut through Grimm armor like butter." said Lucius smugly.

"So thats how you killed that Deathstalker," said Jaune.

"Yes, it can't counter a semblance though, but lucky for me you don't seem to even know yours yet. Now then," Lucius suddenly lashed out and swung at Jaune again. Jaune just managed to bring his shield up but left his right side exposed. Lucius brought his foot around and delivered a blow to Jaune's side. Jaune grunted in pain as the force of the kick made him fall back. Allowing for Lucius to grab the from of his armor, and throw him straight into another wall. The stones cracked as Jaune slammed into them. Jaune woozily got up and struggled to get his balance. He approached Lucius in the center of the room. But he just couldn't do it any more and fell to his knees right infront of Lucius.

"J-Jaune! Nooo!" cried Ruby as she watched her friend in vein.

"Please, Oum, no" said Ren as he watched the closet thing to a brother about to die.

Nora couldn't even form words and just watched in pure terror.

Jaune sat there on his knees, bruised, bloody, and beaten. He looked over to see the horror on his teammates faces as they sat there, paralyzed, forced to watch Jaune try and fight for not only his life but theirs.

"Well Arc, you put up a valiant fight, but in the end, you lose. Just like how you lost Pyrrha Nikos. She might have gotten to feel the touch of a real man, and not a boy like you." said Lucius.

Jaune's eyes lit up as he heard these words. Lucius noticed Jaune suddenly tense up at his words. "Oh, I seem to have touched a nerve there. Lets see just how much further I can go. You Jaune Arc are a failure and a disgrace to the Arc lineage. You're weak, slow, and uncoordinated. Now you have courage, I will give you that. But courage is useless without the proper skills to back it up. Something your bitch partner learned the hard way. Some champion she turned out to be. All hype, but do not worry, you and the Uninvincible Girl will both be reunited, and both be remembered in history as failures."

Jaune began to shake in anger. "Haha, goodbye Jaune Arc." Lucius raised his sword above his shoulder, and swung down towards Jaune's neck to deliver the final, and deadly blow...

"No."

Jaune suddenly lifted his right arm up and did what Lucius thought impossible, caught his sword. A small white and blue flame began to glow off of Jaune.

"W-what is this?" cried out Lucius in shock. Jaune suddenly increased his grip and the rapier shattered into pieces. Lucius staggered back and tripped over his own feet, and looked up at the sight before him. Jaune rose to his feet as the flames began to take shape, and a pale, translucent set of armor began to form around the knight.

"Invincible." was all that Ren could say.

"Ren, what do you mean?" asked Ruby.

"Thats the Invincible Semblance, I've read about it before, but I never imagined I would see it with my own eyes," said Ren as he continued to stare at Jaune.

Jaune approached Lucius, and glared down at him, eyes filled with determination, "Nobody, and I mean NOBODY! Will ever talk that way about Pyrrha, she was the most amazing women in the world! The best fighter I've ever met, and the only love I will ever have. And so help me Oum, not you, not Cinder, not Salem, will ever, desecrate her legend." Jaune picked Lucius by the collar of his shirt and brought him inches away from his face, "Now then," Jaune threw him across the room and he landed hard against the cross, knocking it over. Lucius laid sprawled out on top of the toppled cross.

Jaune went and approached his friends, still glowing with his semblance armor. "Are you guys okay?"

"Jaune! Oh my Oum! You did it! You found your semblance! If I could hug right now I would!" cried out a giddy Ruby. Jaune just smiled and made sure that none of them were seriously hurt.

"I, r-refuse to l-lose to the like of, of an idiot like you," said Lucius as he slowly got up. Jaune rolled his eyes and approached his would be killer. Lucius used the alter to keep himself up and looked up to face Jaune.

"AHHHH!" cried out Lucius as he threw all his energy into one final punch. Jaune didn't even flinch as the fist connected with his jaw.

 _~CRACK~_

Lucius howled in pain as his hand broke against Jaune's armor. Jaune just picked him up by the collar again, brought him up, and smashed him down against the alter, breaking it in two. Lucius just laid there, barley conscious after being sent through the stone. Jaune went and re-approached his friend and sat them up so they were no longer lying on the ground. Just as he finished, he suddenly heard agonizing screams coming behind him. He turned around to see Lucius stand up, with a purple smoke coming off him.

"NOOOOOO! GAAAAHHHHH!" he cried out in pain as RNJR looked in horror as his flesh began to melt of his body, and become dust before it hit the ground. "GAH! GAH! GAAAHH! THE SPELLS BEEN BROKEN! NOOOO!" He tried in vein to keep the flesh on his face, only for it to run between his fingers. Soon, all that remained was a skeleton lying on the ground.

"Wow, that was intense,"said Jaune as his armor finally began to fade.

* * *

The next day, Ruby, Ren, and Nora were back to full health, and making their way onto the next village.

"Do it again Jaune! Do it again!" cried Ruby as she tugged on Jaune's arm like a small child.

"Haha, alright Ruby, alright." Jaune activated his semblance and the ghostly armor appeared over his body again.

"That is so cool!" exclaimed Ruby as she poked his newly acquired semblance.

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty cool, it uses up a lot of my aura though. Luckily, I have plenty to spare," said Jaune with a wink.

"Shut up vomit boy," said Ruby as she gave him a playful punch, and the immediately rubbed her fist. Jaune just laughed as he and the others continued down the trail.

* * *

"Knight takes Bishop," said Salem as she moved the White Knight piece to where the Black Bishop piece was. "Hmm, and the Knight seems to have discovered his semblance as well. Lets see just what he can do now." said Salem as she looked over at the Black Bishop standing amongst the other fallen black pieces.

* * *

 **There's chapter 7. And for any one who might have further questions about Jaune's semblance, basically he can create a set of translucent armor that makes him invincible to all attacks. It does however require a certain amount of concentration (i.e He has to be sure to put a small amount of thought towards it to keep it going), and it also uses up a lot of his aura. But because he has so much of it, he could probably keep it for around half and hour to forty-five minutes, depending on how much of a beating his armor takes. Thats it for this chapter, see you tomorrow. **


	8. The Blake Knight

Chapter 8:

RNJR were making their way up a mountain. Their next village, Fondovalle sat at the base of two mountains. And instead of going through the large canyon that the mountains created, they decided to go over the mountains. They were nearing the top and saw the large bridge that connected the two peaks. Ruby decided now was a good time to go over the plan.

"So after we get to this next village, we should be about a week and a half from Haven, from there we'll meet up with SSSN and try and find the hole Cinder's hiding in."

"If shes there at all," said Ren.

"Even if she isn't, someone there must know something. Perhaps the criminal underground, or WhiteFang have an idea of where she might have gone," said Jaune.

"Hey who the hell is that guy?" asked Nora.

"True as that may be, I wouldn't want to hold our breath. Though I am optimistic we may find her, I'm not going to put all my hope into it." retorted Ren

"I can understand that I suppose. But we'll just have to wait and see." replied Jaune.

"Hey Nora was right, who is that guy?" asked Ruby.

"What will we even do if we find her?" asked Ren.

"Well, my semblance can do us a lot of good, and Ruby's eyes might be able to stop her, she did it once."

"Guys?"

"True, but are we going to have a plan or just rush in blindly?"

"Isn't improvising a plan in itself?"

"I suppose so, but either way, I'm sure that,"

""OW!"" cried out both Jaune and Ren as the girls hit them in the arm.

"What the hell was that for?" asked Jaune. The girls just huffed and pointed up the trail. The boys looked up to see a black figure standing at the summit just infront of the bridge.

""Who the hell is that guy?"" the two asked simultaneously. The girls just face-palmed.

"Thats what we were trying to figure out!" said Nora waving her arms around dramatically.

"Well, lets go see then," said Jaune as he and the others approached the mysterious figure. As they got closer, they saw that the figure was wearing a black suit of armor, resting his hand ontop of his sword as it was partially dug into the ground. On his back was clearly a shield.

"Um, hello, are you okay?" asked Ruby.

"Jaune Arc" said the black knight.

"Uh, yes?" said Jaune. The figure looked up to reveal two glowing red eyes behind his helmet visor.

"At last, the White Knight appears. I have waited a long time for this." said the stranger.

"Who are you?" asked Ren.

The stranger looked up with a smirk. He had blood red eyes and a very pale complexion, "My name is Arthur. And I am the one who will kill, Jaune Arc, the fabled White Knight..."

* * *

Blake was jumping from tree-branch to tree-branch. She was circling around a small White Fang camp, devising her plan of attack. Unlike Yang and Weiss, Blake was still in prime physical condition. After tracking the White Fang and Adam for five months, she had to stay in shape. However, unlike Yang and Weiss, she was tired. Very, very tired. In just the past week Blake had gotten a combined total of fourteen hours of sleep. And it was taking its toll. She had heavy bags under her eyes, her entire body was racked with pain, and as much as she hated to admit it, her reflexes and motor skills as a whole were significantly slower.

 _I'll sleep when hes dead, after all, its my fault he hurt all those people, sleep is a luxury I no longer deserve._ thought Blake as she rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake as she stalked her prey. This was about the thirtieth White Fang camp she had come across, having been a former member she knew where all the camps were located. _Its nice to see that Adam is too hung up on the past to even bother changing the camps locations_ thought Blake with a small grin.

"Sir!" Blake snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the dog Faunus approaching the camp leader.

"Yes Lieutenant, what is it?" asked the Deer Faunus.

"Sir we just got word from Adam. We are to move to base number eighty-six." replied the Lieutenant.

"Base eighty-six, thats in Atlas right? Yeah it is, why are we to go there?" asked the Deer.

"I don't know sir, all I heard was that once we get there Adam himself will give us instructions."

"Oh, so the old boys finally coming out of hiding, about damn time. Alright, go round everyone up, we leave at dawn," ordered the Deer Faunus.

"Yes Sir!" saluted the Dog as he went to go fetch the other White Fang members.

 _This is my chance!_ thought Blake as she quickly ran off towards the nearest town. _After I kill that monster maybe the White Fang will return to the way it was, and then maybe I can be able to face my team again_ , Blake frowned as she thought of team RWBY, and her first true friends. She thought of all the good times they had, the laughs, the victories, and the memories she would cherish forever. Blake arrived in a small village after about half an hour of branch hopping. She immediately stowed away on one of the trains leaving the city and found herself on her way to Atlas. She pulled out a picture that the team had taken after they beat Roman and began to cry.

 _Soon guys, I'll be back soon, and then I'll never run away again, I swear it..._ thought Blake as she began to drift off into sleep.

* * *

"Is that so?" asked Jaune as he readied his sword taking a few steps ahead of his team.

"Indeed, and just to be sure your little friends don't intervene," said Arthur as he hit a button on his gauntlet. Suddenly the ground beneath the two knights began to rise.

"What the hell!?" said Jaune as he looked around to see a small platform begin to rise into the air. He looked over his shoulder to see his teammates looking up at him in shock.

"Now then," said Arthur as he readied his weapons, "Shall we begin?"

"We shall," said Jaune as he activated his semblance with the white armor forming over him. What Arthur did next surprised Jaune, he created a duplicate set of armor, only his was a blood red color.

"B-but how?" asked a bewildered Jaune.

"Easy, my semblance is copy-cat. So then, shall we begin?" Arthur suddenly rushed Jaune. Jaune didn't even flinch as Arthur slashed his sword across Jaune's head, just pinning off. Jaune decided to test just how good Arthur could copy a semblance and gave a slash of his own, only for the exact same thing to happen.

"You see? A perfect copy of your semblance!" Arthur proclaimed proudly.

"Well, it would appear that battle will get us nowhere, so how about a battle of minds?" asked Jaune.

"That sounds interesting, how do we play?" asked Arthur.

"Simple, I'm going to get you to run off this cliff," said Jaune with a smug smile.

"Oh, the White Knight is getting cocky now eh? And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"But that would ruin the surprise! Now then, lets begin. I will first ask you a question, then you me, and we will go back and fourth. Understand?" asked Jaune. Arthur simply nodded. "Great, now then, how did you first meet Salem?"

"Ha, I was wandering through the woods, tiered, beaten, and bloody. I had just survived a Grimm attack, but my partner was not so lucky. Then, she appeared to me, she told me that the attack was a test, and that I had passed. After that, she gave me some of her Grimm essence, and I became her loyal servant."

"Grimm essence?" asked Jaune. _Lucius mentioned something about that,_ thought Jaune.

"Ah ah ah, it my turn to ask the question. Now then, Why did you become a Hunter?"

"Simple, I wanted to help the weak and save lives. Since my family is full of famous Hunters, I figured this would be a good way to carry the torch. What is Grimm Essence?

"It is a gift of the Mistress. It is pure Grimm, and it can grant incredible powers. She only gave me a small taste of its power, but after I kill you, she will give me more, much more. What is it like being a failure?"

"Oh not that hard, you get used to the ridicule after a while. But I don't consider myself a failure. What was your partners name?"

"Wait? What!" asked an angry Arthur.

"What was your partners name?" asked Jaune again as he deactivated his semblance, to notice Arthur do the same.

"His name was Lance, he was, he was my brother. But he was weak, and I was strong! He was just holding me back. Tell me now Arc, whats it like knowing that Pyrrha Nikos sacrificed herself to save your lame ass." Arthur noticed that he had touched a nerve, but was shocked by Jaune's answer.

"It is the biggest shame I will be forced to carry in my life. That just because I wasn't strong enough, my partner had to die. Now tell me this Arthur, what it like only being a pawn?"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Arthur as his fist clenched as Jaune imputed upon his honor.

"I mean think about it, I've had only one interaction with this Salem, but I already know she has more respect for me that you. If I were to turn to her side now, I know she would give me more Grimm Essence than you. And do you know why that is Arthur?"

"Why?" asked Arthur as his teeth grit together and his grip tightened on this sword.

"Because, I'm not some lost little child in the woods trying to play pretend. I am a Knight, and you, you're just a boy in black armor." said Jaune with a smile.

"WHY YOU!" screamed Arthur as he charged at Jaune with everything he had. Jaune simply stood still and waited to Arthur to approach. Then, at the last second, Jaune took a simple side step and avoided Arthur's sword strike. Arthur quickly tried to whirl back around, but discovered that he had made a fatal error. During their back and forth Jaune had slowly moved towards the edge of the platform, and Arthur had just charged right off of it, just as Jaune had said he would.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" cried Arthur as he fell of the platform, and subsequently, the cliff that he had met RNJR on.

"Knight takes Pawn," said Jaune as the platform began to lower.

* * *

"Okay, so if we can just launch Ruby with enough power, we should be able to," said Nora as she was devising a rescue plan to get Jaune back when Ren suddenly silenced her.

"Hey, do you guys hear that?"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The three suddenly turned to their side to see the Black figure from earlier plummeting towards the Earth. They rushed to the edge of the bridge to see him free-falling. He hit the side of the cliff hard and stopped his screaming. The three teens watched as his body went limp, and his weapons flew away from him. His body drifting down until the mist devoured him. All of a sudden, that platform began to descend.

"Jaune!" cried out Ruby as she rushed over to give him a hug.

"Hi Ruby!" said a slightly surprised Jaune.

"What happened up there?" asked Nora.

"Simple, his anger got the best of him and he charge off a cliff," said Jaune.

"You tricked him into attacking you, didn't you?" asked Ren. Jaune just flashed him a smile.

"Well come on! Lets go," said Ruby as she let go of Jaune and started to make her way across the bridge.

* * *

Salem looked over her chess board and moved the White Knight piece to the spot a Black Pawn previously held. However, instead of anger of disgust at her pan's failure, she instead had a sadistic smile on her face.

"Oh Jaune, you don't know what I have planned for you, hahahahahahahaha."

* * *

 **Chapter 8 complete! And before anyone asks, yes I did take a little inspiration for Arthur from King Arthur. But only in terms of him being a knight, and his partners name. Any ways, thanks for all the support, next chapter up tomorrow.**


	9. Teacher Talks

Chapter 9:

Glynda Goodwitch was doing what she normally did on Friday nights now, sit in boring counsel meeting as they tried to figure out what would be the best course of action for the city of Vale after the disaster that was the Vytal Tournament. This was probably the fifteenth meeting she had been to, and it had to be the third most boring.

After what felt like an eternity, the board finally moved to dismiss for the week and reconvene next Friday. She left the meeting room rubbing her temples, trying to keep a headache at bay. Since Ozpin's disappearance, things had gotten pretty tough for Glynda. She had to resume his responsibilities. All of them, this included his role on the Vale. She was just about at her apartment when she heard an all too familiar voice, "This had better be important Glynda, I was in the middle of something very important." said Qrow.

Glynda's eyes lit up as she looked at him. "Qrow?"

"Yes Goodwitch its me! Now what the hell do you want?" said Qrow with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Where the hell have you been these past months! I could have used your help! We all could have!" screamed Glynda.

"I've been tailing Ruby and her friends for the past few months and, no wait thats not the question at hand! What was this big emergency that you needed me to solve!?" demanded Qrow.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" asked Glynda.

Qrow's eyes grew red, "Don't fuck with me Goodwitch! This is your text sent by your scroll two weeks ago saying that you were in dire need of my help and that the whole city of Vale depended on it. Now answer my question!" yelled Qrow at Glynda as he shoved his scroll screen in her face. She looked at it and indeed saw that there was a message from her saying that if he were to not return fast, Vale would fall to Grimm. There was just one issue...

"Qrow, I didn't send that message, look," she said as she pulled her scroll lout and showed him their text conversation. And nowhere on it was the text in question.

"The hell? Then who sent it?!" asked Qrow.

"You said that you were tailing Ruby, why? What as she doing?" asked Glynda.

"She and whats left of Team JNPR set off to go try and find Cinder. I followed the little tike because I was worried she would find her and, oh shit" said Qrow as he suddenly came to a realization.

"Um, Qrow, whats up?" asked Glynda, concern clearly on her face.

"But how could someone have known! Even Ruby didn't notice."

"Qrow?"

"I was so careful! I didn't even drink!"

 **SLAP**

"Ow! The fuck was that for!" demanded Qrow.

"Qrow what the hell are you talking about!" said Glynda as she stomped her foot down.

"Someone wanted to take me away from Ruby and her team, I'll give you two guesses what her name is, rhymes with bitch." said Qrow.

"Cinder?"

"Ding ding ding!" said Qrow. Glynda just gave him a stern look.

"But why would Cinder try to lead you away from Ruby? And how the hell did they send that message?"

"Think about it, she managed to hack into Ironwood's personal computer, do you really think sending a fake text would be that difficult? And as for why, I don't know, but I intend to find out," said Qrow as he turned away from Glynda and started to walk down a dark alley.

"Qrow wait!" cried Glynda as she tried to rush after him. But just as she neared the alleyway, a Crow flew out and started flying East. Glynda instantly knew what that meant, "You stupid self riotous, gah!" murmured Glynda in pure frustration.

* * *

Doctor Oobleck was sitting at home, in his study, doing the assignment that Glynda had tasked him with, discovering the origin and history of the Mistresses of Grimm. He knew he was the obvious choice given his extensive knowledge, and love for history. His study was stacked to the roof with papers and books, and he had three bulletin boards with strings stung all across them to try and tie the pieces together. However, he had hit a roadblock.

"Danmit!" cried Oobleck as he threw a book at the wall in frustration.

"Bartholomew, honey, are you okay?" asked his wife Mabel.

"Oh, sorry dear, I didn't mean to disturb you. I'm just getting really annoyed."

"At what?" asked his wife as she pulled up a seat.

"Well," said Oobleck as he also sat down, "As I told you, Glynda tasked me with learning all that I can about the Mistresses of Grimm in the hope that we may learn their weaknesses, but I can't find anything! All I have are legends and myths."

"But Bartholomew, you know that all legends and myths have a kernel of truth to them! You've told me that for years," said Mabel.

"I know, but the thing is that there are multiple legends, and I can't decipher which are true and not. All that I know for sure about them is that they are former Humans that become Grimm. They have always been female, and that they can control the Grimm. Otherwise everything else is circumstantial. Like this for example," said Oobleck as he picked up a book lying next to him. "In here the legend of the Grimm Mistresses says that the supposed first Grimm Mistress, who I've discovered as named Nifsara, fell into a vat of "Grimm Essence", which is supposedly pure Grimm, what ever that could mean. But after she fell in, it says she gained the ability to control and create the Grimm. But in that book over there, Nifsara apparently always existed and was responsible for the Grimm because of the anger and hate she held. And in the book under your chair it says that she was born by a Grimm and all the Mistresses there after have been her offspring. The only similarity between the three is the name. But that is about all I have on the origin of the Grimm Mistresses."

"Okay, well what about their powers?" asked Mabel.

Oobleck gave a small smile, "I've had a little more success there. There are still a ton of legends, but I have noticed similarities between some of the powers listed and believe that they for sure have those. Such as Aura manipulation, and being able to create weapons. But there are others like mind reading and super speed that I can't confirm." said Oobleck as he looked through some of his notes.

"I see, well what about all the Mistresses, do you at least know who or what they are?" asked Mabel.

Oobleck's expression darkened, "I do know of one that was human for sure and turned to the dark side, but apart from that, I only have legends."

"Wait, where did you find that out?" asked a surprised Mabel.

"Lets just say he is a reliable source. I didn't feel like asking him where he got the information, I just know that it is good." said Oobleck.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Mabel. After all, she to was a Doctor of History.

"Actually yeah, I think I may be on to something about just exactly where they reside, if you could look through those books over there and see if there is any mention of a place called Sheol. I've seen it mentioned multiple times, and I suspect that it could be significant.

"What does it mean?"

"The Pit."

"Hell?!"

"As close as one can get I suppose," said Oobleck as he zipped over to the other side of the room and scanned through another book. Mabel poured herself a cup of Oobleck's coffee and got to work looking for anything of the Sheol.

* * *

"Yang, you have a visitor," said Taiyang. Yang wassitting in bed looking out the window. She turned and faced her Dad and also saw Professor Port. _Oh Oum, this should be "fun"_

"Hello Miss Xiao Long, how are you doing?" asked Professor Port as he pulled up a seat next to Yang's bed. She didn't dignify him with a response.

"Right, well you might be wondering why one of your old teachers has decided to pay you a visit. Well Yang, I'm hoping to get you out of your funk."

"My funk?" asked Yang.

"Yes, you see, I understand how your confidence might have been shaken after what happened at the Tournament. But I'm here to tell you my dear girl that it simply wasn't your fault."

"Oh, and how might me losing an arm, my team, and a friend not my fault!" quipped Yang.

"Because my dear, nothing you could have done would have prepared you for what happened. Even me, and experienced and world renowned Huntsman, whose slayed entire hordes of Grimm single handily. Whos survived in the wild with no supplies for months on end, whos bravery has been sung about was caught off guard at what happened."

Yang just rolled her eyes, "Look Professor, I can appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but don't even bother. Nothing will change what happened. We lost, plan and simple. And nothing I could do would ever change that. You might as well just go back to Vale." Yang turned away and faced the window once more.

"I see, well then Miss Xiao Long, I will leave. But I will leave you with one final thing, they only win if we let them. Have a nice day." With that Port for up and made his way out the door. Yang looked out her window to see her Dad and Port shake hands and talk very briefly before he made his way back towards Vale.

 _They only win if we let them win, thats exactly what Ruby said, I wonder how she doing?_ Yang shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts, _NO stop it Yang! I doesn't matter. She left you and made her own decision, if she wants to go on this quest then let her. She doesn't need your help._ _Right...?_

* * *

 **Chapter 9 finished. Not really a whole lot in this chapter I know, but it was mainly a filler chapter. They will start to pick up real soon as I'm getting to the point of the story I really wanted to write. H** **ope you liked the chapter, and see you tomorrow for the final upload of this week. Also Sheol is Hebrew for The Pit, Death, Hell, the grave and a bunch of other things like that. *The more you know!***


	10. Nightmares

Chapter 10:

"How much longer do we have to be here?" asked an annoyed Mercury.

"I already told you, we wait until they show up!" snipped back Emerald.

"Why?" asked Mercury as he leaned back in his chair.

"Huh, you are such a child!" said Emerald.

"Thank you," replied Mercury.

"That wasn't a complement!" screamed Emerald as she got up and slammed her foot down on the ground. Mercury just laughed as he watched Emerald march out of the room, clearly agitated. He and Emerald had been in the remains of the Vytal Tournament Coliseum for the past five days. Cinder had the Coliseum moved into the middle of the woods, about fifty miles outside of the industrial super city of Haven. Why were they out there exactly? Well from what Cinder had told them, Salem had wanted them to lay in wait for team RNJR to show up. After they did Mercury could only assume that they were to kill them.

 _Good, its been a while since I got to kill anyone, Cinder's been hogging all the kills to herself_. Mercury got up and decided to walk around a bit. He was sitting in the announcer's booth that looked down on the fighting ring. Since it had been moved, they had repurposed many of the stadiums features. All the seats had been removed and were now replaced with slick smooth walls so nobody could escape the ring. The announcer booth had become a sort of control room that could operate the lights, cameras, and other electronic devices. Then there was the camera room. It had originally been used to monitor all the angles of the fights, and air it on T.V, now however it served as an escape pod. It still had all the cameras and T.V.s in it, and was as Cinder called it "Phase Two" of the trap. _Whatever the fuck that means_ thought Mercury. As he walked down towards the fighting ring, he noticed Cinder in the center, training. He watched as she eviscerated the practice bots that would try and attack her, but none could even get within ten feet of her as her Fall Maiden powers would disintegrate them. _Those poor bastards don't know whats waiting for them.  
_

* * *

Salem was standing in her throne room looking down at an orb that showed Team RNJR. She knew of the ambush that she had ordered Cinder to set up, and was confident that she would accomplish her goal. However, that still left three variables to which she had to deal with. And their names were Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and Ruby Rose. Her ultimate plan would eventually take care of Ruby, which only left Ren and Nora. She knew how close the two were, but was prepared. She knew that if she was to succeed in her ultimate plan, she would need to dissolve the trust between Team RNJR, just like she had RWBY. And she had just the person.

"Incubus, come forth." Declared Salem

Suddenly, a black cloud began to form in front of Salem. Soon it began to take a distinctive shape. Soon, a figure was in front of Salem, kneeling. "Yes my lady." Said the figure.

"Rise Incubus," said Salem. Incubus did as she had commanded and stood to reveal his impressive size. He stood nine feet tall, with a very muscular build. He wore a tan dress from the waist down, reminiscent of what a King in Ancient times would wear, with a pair of pitch black bracelets. But that was not his most impressive feature. Instead of the head of a man, he had the head of a Jackal, with pitch black fur and razor sharp claws. But his eyes were different; they did not express that of a savage beast, but instead that of a being with a superior intelligence.

"Incubus, my Black Bishop and Rook, the time has come to fulfill your role in my game of chess. I need you to go and destroy the unity of Team RNJR. I assume you know what you have to do?" asked Cinder.

"Yes my lady, it shall be done. And after that, I shall be free?" asked Incubus.

"Yes Incubus, fulfill this task, and you shall no longer be my pawn." Replied Salem.

"Then they shall fall," said Incubus as he brought his fist to his chest and bowed before he turned into a black cloud again and flew out of the room. A wicked smile crept across Salem's face, "Now, lets see just what my second most powerful pieces can do."

"Alright, we'll set up camp here for the night," said Jaune as he put his backpack down. The others followed his lead and started to settle in for the night, unaware of the threat that lied amongst them. They went about their usual routine, eating dinner, chatting, and eventually turning in for bed. Ruby took first watch as the others fell asleep. Ruby had been standing guard for about two hours when she suddenly noticed something odd. She saw what looked like a black mass moveing slowly towards her. She readied Crescent Rose as it got closer. However, as it got closer and closer, she noticed that it wasn't a Grimm, or other creature, but rather a puff of black smoke.

"What the heck?" asked Ruby as she lowered her weapon. She watched as the smoke began to swirl around, when suddenly it flew into her nostrils and mouth as she took a breath. Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she could do anything, she felt her consciousness slip away and was soon sprawled out on the ground. The smoke exited her body and moved to Jaune's tent. And just like Ruby, as he took a breath in, the smoke flew into him, and soon exited. Then it went to Ren's tent, and then Nora's. Soon all of Team RNJR were under Incubus's spell. Soon, the cloud broke into four separate entities and flew back into each of the teenagers. Their night had just begun.

* * *

"Ow, my head," said Ruby as she slowly stirred back to life. When she tried to move, she found she couldn't. She looked down to see she was tied to a chair. As she looked up, she could see the rest of her teammates in a similar position. They were about ten feet away from eachother and where set up as though they were each in a corner of a square. "The heck? What happened, all I can remember is seeing the black cloud and then," said Ruby to herself when suddenly she was interrupted as someone else began to stir.

"I don't want to get up!" said a drowsy Nora.

"Nora! Wake up!" cried Ruby.

"Wha? Ruby! Where the heck are we?!" asked Nora. Ruby looked around and took in her surroundings. They appeared to be in a white nothingness. She couldn't see a wall or shadow, or anything that would indicate that they were in a room.

"I don't know where we are Nora," said Ruby, fear in her voice. Soon Ren and Jaune also woke up.

"So, either of you two know what happened?" asked Ruby.

"No," said the boys in unison.

"Ah, you're all awake, good. Now we can begin," said a voice.

"Who are you!?" cried out Jaune.

"Allow me to show you," replied the voice. Suddenly a black smoke began to rise in front of the four teens. It quickly took shape looked directly at Jaune. Jaune looked at it in fear and said, "W-what are you?"

It smiled and said, "Not what, but who Mr. Arc. I am Incubus, one of the disciples of Salem." Its response defiantly rattled Jaune, not just because it spoke, but how it spoke. With a calm and cool demeanor, while also giving the impression of it having great intelligence.

"Where are we?" asked Ruby. Incubus turned and faced the young Reaper.

"You are in my dream domain Miss Rose," answered Incubus.

Ruby gulped and asked one more question, "Are you going to kill us?"

Incubus gave a small laugh, "No Miss Rose, I am not going to kill you. Even if I wished to I couldn't, this is not a physical plain of existence. I have brought your conscious minds to my dimension. These are not your physical bodies, but rather your collective consciousness."

"Who with the what in the where?" asked Nora.

Incubus turned and faced her and said, "Its like a giant dream the four of you are sharing Miss Valkyrie."

"What do you plan to do to us then?" asked Jaune.

"Simple Mr. Arc, I am going to show all of you your deepest secrets and fears," said Incubus.

"So it's not physical torture, but," started Ren before Incubus cut him off.

"Psychological torture, that is correct Mr. Ren." Said Incubus.

"How do we know that you're really going to tell the truth, and not just make these things up to try and turn us against one another?" asked Ruby.

"Excellent question Miss Rose. You see in my domain, one cannot lie, even if they try. For example Miss Rose, how do you feel about your teammate Weiss Schnee?" asked Incubus.

"I think she is the most beautiful girl I have ever met and I wish that she held the same feelings for me that I hold for her," said Ruby. Her eyes suddenly lit up after she heard what she said.

"So you are a lesbian then Miss Rose?" asked Incubus.

"Yes," said Ruby, pain clearly on her face as she admitted one of her deepest secrets. One she had not even told her sister yet. The others just stared at her in shock.

"As you can see Miss Rose, I am not lying when I say it is impossible to lie. All the things I shall show you shall be true. Now let's begin. I think I'll begin with fears, Miss Rose, you've already had one secret revealed, so let's start with you. Are you ready?" asked Incubus. Ruby just continued to stare at the ground in shock, small tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'll take your silence as a yes." Incubus snapped his fingers and a black smoke began to rise from her body and an image began to form above her. Jaune, Ren, Nora looked as the smoke took the shape of Ruby weeping over the bloody beaten body of Weiss.

"Its all my fault," said the smoke Ruby. "It's all my fault. I never should have brought her here, I-I'm sorry Weiss." The smoke Ruby began to bawl over her fallen partner before the smoke dissipated.

"I would appear that Miss Rose's worst fear is losing her partner. Not surprising after the revelation she gave us not five minutes ago. Now then, lets move on to Mr. Arc." With another snap of his fingers, a black cloud began to rise from Jaune now. Ren, Nora, and Ruby who had finally stopped staring at the ground looked at Jaune and the image that began to form above him. They saw a tombstone, and Jaune weeping over it. The stone said, _Here lies Pyrrha Nikos. The Invincible Girl_.

"I should have been there," said the smoke Jaune. Tears began to streak down real Jaune's face.

"So, it would appear that Mr. Arc has already lived out his greatest fear." The smoke began to dissipate and Jaune just sat there, tears streaming down his face.

"Now then, lets move onto Mr. Ren." said Incubus. Ren put on a brave face as Incubus snapped his fingers and the smoke rose from Ren now. As I took shape they saw as Ren wept over the body of Nora. Nora's jaw dropped and fear filled her eyes.

"So, Mr. Ren's fear is also losing a partner. Lets see if this pattern shall persist shall we?" said Incubus as he snapped his fingers and the smoke rose from Nora. She looked at the ground, shaking with fear. As the smoke began to form, the three teens saw a very different sight. As oppose to her weeping over the body of Ren, I instead showed the two of them sitting in rocking chairs, in front of a house, significantly older. They didn't see them holding hands or having wedding rings thought.

"What the hell?" asked Ren as he looked at the cloud in confusion. Nora just looked at him, fear still visibly in her eyes.

"Haha, it would appear that Miss. Valkyrie's fear is also a secret," said Incubus.

"What is it?" asked Ren as he looked at Incubus with determination in his eyes.

"P-please! NO!" cried out Nora in protest.

Incubus smiled and looked at Ren, "It would appear her biggest fear is her ending with only you Mr. Ren. Or to simplify it, she is afraid she won't find anybody else and only end up with you."

The normally stoic Ren looked like his life had been shattered. He looked down, shock and pain in his eyes. The smoke soon dissipated, but Ren and Nora hardly noticed.

"Now then, we've seen your worst fears, now let's see your biggest secrets. Miss Rose, we have already learned one of your biggest secrets, so let's see the other one shall we. However, I think I'll have you go last; you've been first the past two times. Let's begin with Mr. Arc." Said Incubus. And with yet another snap of his fingers, the smoke rose from him and a pair of papers took shape.

"What are those? Transfer papers?" asked Nora as she looked at the image.

Jaune went pale as he realized just what Incubus was showing.

"You are exactly right Miss Valkyrie. It would appear that Jaune's biggest secret has to do with his transfer papers to Beacon. Care to tell us what it is Mr. Arc?" said Incubus.

Jaune began to shake as the words left his mouth, "I used fake transfer papers to get into Beacon."

"What?" cried out Ruby.

"It would appear that Mr. Arc used fake papers in order to gain admittance into Beacon Academy. And that would explain a lot, wouldn't it. His lack of skill, how he didn't appear to have any sort of knowledge of Grimm and Aura. It would seem his entire Hunter Career is based on a lie." The other three just looked at him, with looks of disgust.

"We've been listening to you all this time. Helping you, all because of a lie!" cried out Ruby in anger.

Jaune tried to put up a defense, "Even if it was based on a lie, look at all we've accomplished! The fights we've won. How far we've come!"

"We could be farther if you weren't holding us back," spat out Nora.

Ren looked at Jaune and asked him one question, "Jaune, I only want to know one thing. Did Pyrrha know?"

"Yes, yes she did know," said Jaune.

"And how did she react?" asked Ren.

"She told me that she didn't care, and that she didn't think it mattered how I got there, all that mattered is where I went." Said Jaune as he thought back to that night he almost ruined his relationship with Pyrrha.

"I forgive you."

"What?!" cried out all three teens. Ren looked at Jaune and said, "Jaune, I forgive you despite the lie. I won't lie and say that I'm happy you withheld this information from us, but I think you had good intentions. And if Pyrrha can forgive you, then so can I."

"Thank you Ren, thank you," said Jaune. Nora and Ruby just looked at Ren in shock.

"Well, that's all toughing, but lets continue shall we? Miss Valkyrie, let's do you next." Incubus snapped his fingers and the smoke formed once more. The picture took the form of multiple boys, ranging from young to her age. The other three looked at it in confusion.

"Care to explain who these boys are Miss Valkyrie?" prompted Incubus.

"Those are all the boys I've ever dated," said Nora.

Ren, once again looked shattered, "Y-you dated behind my back?"

"What would it matter to you! You only like me as a friend!" cried out Nora.

"I still had a right to know!" snapped back Ren. Jaune and Ruby were a little surprised by his sudden outburst.

"WHY WOULD YOU CARE REN!" screamed Nora.

"Lets see why, shall we?" said Incubus with another snap of the fingers. The cloud formed over Ren, and the shape it took told the whole story. It showed Nora, with a large heart around the outside of her.

"No," said Nora as she looked at the secret in horror. Ren just put his head down in shame.

"Well children, my time with you draws to an end. Now for my final reveal, Miss Rose's secret." Said Incubus. With one final snap of his finger, smoke rose from Ruby. The picture that formed showed a collage of Jaune and him in multiple situations. One was of him with him sprawled out on the ground, another was of him standing next to Pyrrha, and another of him with his semblance activated.

"What the hell?" asked Jaune as he looked over the scene before him.

"Oh my, Miss Rose, care to explain what this is all about. Ruby looked painfully at the ground, trying to fight the urge to tell.

"Miss Rose, explain, now," said Incubus.

"I'm jealous of him!" Ruby finally cracked.

"How so?" asked Incubus.

Tears were streaming down her face, "He's had it so easy! Whether he got in by cheating, or having a championship partner to save his ass! I'm jealous of how easy it is for him!" Jaune just looked at her, sadness and betrayal in his eyes. Ruby didn't dare look at him.

"Well children, it's been fun, but I have to go. Good Luck fighting Salem. I genially mean that, and, I'm sorry for what I have done, I had no choice in the matter." Said Incubus.

"Yeah I'm so sure," said Nora.

"Do not forget Miss Val-, Nora, in this realm, nobody can lie. Goodbye children." Said Incubus with a sad smile as he turned into smoke and disappeared. Suddenly, the white light of the room increased to a blinding level.

RNJR awoke with a start to find themselves back in their camp, the sun just rising over the horizon. All four walked to the center of their camp, contempt and distrust running rampant.

"Come on, let's pack up and go, we're a day and a half's journey away from Haven." Said Jaune. Nobody acknowledged Jaune and just went to go collect their stuff. After twenty minutes, they left, none speaking a word to one another.

* * *

Salem was sitting in her throne when the black cloud of Incubus appeared before her.

"It is done," said Incubus.

"Good, you have fulfilled your part of the bargain." Said Salem.

"Now fulfill yours," replied Incubus.

"Why of course," said Salem, and with a snap of her own, the two bracelets fell off of Incubus's wrists.

"Good, and before I leave, I have one final thing to say." Said Incubus as he rubbed his wrists, "I hope those children succeed in destroying you, you monster."

"Oh Incubus, how you hurt me, and here I was thinking we were friends." Said Salem with a smile. Incubus just glared at her. "Besides Incubus, I don't think I need to worry too much about those children anymore after the fantastic job you did. Now, go on and live the rest of your retched life." Incubus gave her one last glare before he opened a portal home. After he left Salem got up and went into her chess room. With a wave of her hand the black rook and other black bishop evaporated into thin air. Salem looked over and moved the white pieces as well. No longer did they stand next eachother, but now were separated, scattered all over the board. Allowing for the last of Salem's pieces to surround one of the white pieces… the knight.

* * *

Ozpin watched the orb with great sadness. He looked over to the sleeping form of Pyrrha and slightly smiled. He was thankful that despite not needing to, she was following RNJR's sleeping pattern as a way to try and keep a part of her old life. It was because of this that she did not need to witness the destruction of Team RNJR with her own eyes. Ozpin had seen the entire event unfold and had to watch in agony as he saw some of his star pupils go from being bright, happy go lucky kids, to hard, bitter and angry adults. A silver flame of remorse shone off Ozpin as it reminded him of the falling out he had with his own family. He did not look forward to having to explain to Pyrrha what had happened to her friends while he sleep, but he also feared for just what Salem had in store next, because he knew one thing. This was only the beginning of RNJR's pain.

* * *

 **Hello! Now I know this is a bit later than I said I would upload it, sorry that's my bad. I extended my vacation for another week and forgot to update. I got back the first of September, and have been occupied with the first week of college. But now I have an opportunity to post! So, if you all couldn't guess, Incubus was based on the Egyptian God Anubus. Next chapter will be up at some point in the future. However, I want to hear feedback from you guys. What do you prefer, the occasional chapter every couple of weeks, or the large time gap with several chapters? So be sure to leave a comment (that includes you none guests who monitor this story, you know who you are). I'll be uploading a chapter in the near future, but after that it will depend on what you guys vote. And also be sure to allow a little more time between uploads as I am also finishing up my Gravity Falls Fanfic. So, until next time, see you soon, and don't be afraid to favorite, follow, and review.**


	11. Divide and Conquer

Chapter 11

"Emerald, Mercury! Report to me immediately!" Cinder called over the stadium's PA system.

"Finally, its show time!" cried Mercury as he leaped to his feet and started to make his way to the control room. As he was going, Emerald joined him.

"So, they're finally here," said Emerald as the two walked in unison. Mercury didn't respond to her. As the two entered the control room they saw Cinder sitting in a chair, looking at a tablet. She looked up as her two apprentices entered the room.

"Mercury, Emerald, the time has come. RNJR shall arrive any minute now. You two know the plan?"

"Yes"

"No"

Emerald just shot a glare at Mercury. Cinder on the other hand just smiled, "Well Mercury, its simple, just follow me and when the target shows up, you beat him senseless."

"And the others?" asked Mercury.

"You'll see my boy, now come. We have work to do," said Cinder as she got up and made her way towards the locker room. Emerald and Mercury quickly followed suit, preparing themselves for the fight to come.

* * *

"They, they what?" asked Pyrrha teary eyed. Ozpin had just filled her in on the events of last night.

"I'm sorry Pyrrha, but its true, they aren't even talking to eachother right now." Replied Ozpin.

"W-what were their secrets?" asked Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, please, I don't think you want to know that." Said Ozpin somberly.

"At least tell me Jaune's, please Ozpin." Ozpin just sighed.

"You already knew his secret, his transcripts, and he has already lived out his fear," said Ozpin.

"And what was it?" asked Pyrrha, desperation in her eyes.

"Losing you."

Pyrrha just sat there, stunned. _His biggest fear was losing me?_ She was speechless, contemplating what Ozpin had just told her. She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts when Ozpin spoke again.

"What the hell? Is that the Vytal Tournament Coliseum?" Pyrrha quickly looked up and saw that it indeed was the Coliseum from that disastrous Tournament. The one where Yang broke Mercury's leg. Where she killed Penny. Where all those young Hunters and Huntress banded together to defeat the flying Grimm. The place where everything changed.

"What is it doing there?" asked Pyrrha.

"I don't know," said Ozpin as he studied the structure carefully, "But whatever it is doing, it can't be good."

* * *

RNJR had been walking for the past few hours in complete silence. None of them even looked at one another. Along the way they had run into a small pack of Grimm. But as oppose to fighting as a team like they had for the past months, they fought strictly as individuals. None helped or were even concerned for their fellow teammates. They just fought the beasts that approached them and moved onto the next. As they were going down the trail, Ren noticed something odd. Winter had finished only a little bit ago, so Ren knew that the trees were still going to appear slightly dead, as the spring leaves had yet to grow in, but at the top of all the trees they passed were dead, with no exception. He also noticed that the branches appeared to be broken in some areas.

 _What the hell, its almost as if something flew in and killed the top of the trees, but what could do that?_ He quickly got his answer.

"What the heck is that?" asked Jaune out loud. Ren snapped his head forward and saw a giant structure ahead of them.

"Is that the Vytal Coliseum?" asked Nora.

"I think it is Nora, but the only question now is," started Ruby.

"Why is it here?" finished Jaune. Ruby shot him a dirty glare. Jaune ignored it as he and the others approached the building. The Coliseum had seen a lot of structural damage since the fall. The outside concrete walls had been cracked and partially destroyed. The large arches that lined the top were cracked, and collapsed. The entire outside of the building made it look as though the structure was in disarray. The four teens drew their weapons and cautiously entered the stadium. As they entered they noticed three distinct pathways. But they did not appear to be normal pathways. One looked as though it had been mined, with lanterns lining the walls similar to a mine shaft, and obvious marks showing that the concrete had been chipped away. That was the path on the left. The path on the right was a staircase that appeared to possibly lead up towards where the stands would be. And the final path in the middle was a large dark entrance, with scattered debris lying on the ground.

"So, how is this going to work out?" asked Nora. "Three tunnels, four of us."

"I think we should all stick together, this smells like a trap." Said Jaune.

"Oh and how would you know?" snipped Ruby. "Why don't you leave the decision making to the real Hunters here."

Jaune just glared at her, "Fine don't listen to me, it's not like it'll matter if I'm right or anything." Jaune started to walk forward towards the middle tunnel.

"Where do you think you're going," said Ruby. Jaune didn't respond, he just drew his weapon and continued down the tunnel.

"Ugh, men." Said Nora. Ren just rolled his eyes and made his way towards the left tunnel.

"And you, where do you think you're going?" asked Ruby. Ren however did give a response.

"I'll take the left tunnel, you girls seem to make good company. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time together," said Ren, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Nora huffed, "Fine, me and Ruby will take the right tunnel." With that, Nora grabbed the young girl by her cape and dragged her towards the right tunnel. As they parted their separate ways, all were unaware of a camera watching them.

"Haha, and so it begins," said Cinder as she watched the team disperse.

* * *

After Nora let go of Ruby, the two readied their weapons and walked side by side down the passage way. Their initial thoughts of it leading to the spectator stands had been dismissed after they discovered that as oppose to a public passageway, it was a service tunnel. Very similar to the one Ruby and gone down when she discovered Mercury.

"Nora, do you think this is a trap?" asked Ruby.

"What do you mean?" asked Nora.

"As much as I hate to have to admit this, Jaune did have a point. What would this coliseum be doing in the middle of nowhere, three kingdoms away from where it originated." Said Ruby.

"Ruby, lets not worry about that, lets instead worry about whats behind that door!" exclaimed Nora as she and Ruby approached a large sliver door.

Ruby pulled Crescent Rose out and turned it into its rifle mode. Nora pulled out her weapon out as well as she approached the door.

"On the count of three! One, two," Nora suddenly grabbed the door and pulled it open, with Ruby quickly running in, pointing her gun in multiple directions to see if anyone was inside.

"Clear!" called out Ruby as she finished her sweep of the room. Nora followed behind her, putting her weapon back in its holster.

"What is this room?" asked Nora. They were in a medium sized room, it had two levels, with a small staircase leading down to the lower part of the room. On the lower part were five seats, with what appeared to be seat belts for some reason. And in front of the seats was a wall of television screens. There were three smaller screens on either side of a large T.V. They all had different images displayed on them. With some being switched off, others having static, but the one they were focused on was the giant screen in the center. It showed the fighting area with all the lights shining down on it.

"Why would the-?" before Ruby could finish her thought, she and Nora heard another door open and immediately turned and readied their weapons to face whatever lied beyond the door.

* * *

Ren made his way down the freshly dug tunnel. As he continued down it, he noted how it reminded him more and more of a mine tunnel. Whether it was the wired lanterns along the wall, or the small layer of ruble that covered the floor. The further he made his way down the tunnel, the more and more he wondered just why it existed.

 _Its almost as if they were looking for something_ thought Ren. The walls shone a dark orange color, and the walls were jagged and rough. Suddenly the path took a sharp right turn, and he readied Storm Flowers, preparing for a possible ambush. He quickly went around the corner, aiming his guns, only to be met by a large silver door. Ren could tell that the door had been placed there, but why he had no idea. He crept up to the door and could hear muffled voices behind it. He took a couple of quick breaths, psyching himself up, and quickly opened the door and aimed… straight at Nora and Ruby.

"Oh, it's just you two," said Ren as he holstered his dual guns.

"Ren? What the hell are you doing here?" asked Ruby.

"This is where my tunnel lead," said Ren as he pointed over his shoulder showing the mine tunnel behind the open door. "I assume this is where your tunnel lead to as well."

"Yeah, that just leaves one question, why? And also, where did Jaune's tunnel lead?" asked Ruby.

"Guys, I found him" said Nora, the normal chipper spirit absent in her voice.

"Where?" asked Ruby as she looked at Nora pointing at the screen. It showed Jaune, slowly making his way across the battlefield.

"What the hell?" asked Ren. No sooner had he asked that did the other screens suddenly burst to life, showing different angles of the battlefield. Then without warning a steel wall suddenly dropped over the doors, with a small porthole window that showed them the tunnels they just came from. A red light started to slowly flash in the room, giving it an ominous vibe. All three quickly redrew their weapons, with Nora swinging her hammer into the steel wall, only for it to stop dead in its tracks.

"What the hell! It didn't even leave a dent!" Suddenly, the two girls heard the sound of clinking metal and turned to see Ren had dropped his guns, and then to his knees, a look of horror plastered across his face.

"Ren whats the matter?" asked Ruby, panic setting in. Ren just pointed his hand at the screen, shaking slightlywhile he did so. Ruby and Nora turned to see the screen, color also leaving their faces.

"No," said Nora.

"It can't be," said Ruby as her knees began to shake, having trouble being able to stay up as they saw Jaune facing the three figures they set out to stop.

* * *

Jaune walked down the dark tunnel, using his scroll's flashlight app to give him some sight. The tunnel was pitch black, with chunks of concrete and other debris scattered across the floor. It seemed as though a small bomb had gone off.

" _Oh and how would you know?" "Why don't you leave the decision making to the real Hunters here."_ Ruby's word echoed through his head. _She didn't mean it Jaune, shes just scared and upset that her closest secrets had been exposed_. He was also thinking about the secret that Incubus had shared with them, that Ruby was jealous of how easy he had it. It made him think, did he really have it easy?

 _No, just think all about you've had to be through, the blood, sweat, and tears you've shed. You've just done a good job of hiding it._ As he continued down the tunnel, he noticed a light at the end.

"Now then, lets see where this leads," said Jaune to himself as he pocketed his scroll. As he stepped into the lights, his eyes slowly adjusted to see that he had found himself standing in the fighting ring of the coliseum. The ring was like it was when Pyrrha and Penny had their fight. As he continued towards the center, he noticed the T.V cameras were not only still there, but appeared to be running.

"The hell?"

"Hello there Jaune, we've been waiting for you."

Jaune instantly recognized the voice, "Cinder," the name leaving his mouth like venom. He looked up to see Cinder walking towards him, with Emerald and Mercury on either side of her.

Cinder just smirked, "Welcome Jaune, to the end of the line." Said Cinder.

"So I was right, it is a trap," said Jaune.

"Yes Mister Arc this is a trap, a trap we set for you," replied Cinder. Jaune looked to see Mercury and Emerald both flashing smiles as they began to crack their knuckles.

Jaune gulped in fear, "For me? Why?"

"I don't know Arc, I personally think you are a waste of human being, but for whatever reason, my master thinks you pose a threat, so we're here to stop you."

"So you're going to kill me?" asked Jaune as he pulled out his sword and expanded his shield.

"Oh no Arc, my master has something much worse planned for you. She just might make a man out of you yet, now then, Emerald, Mercury, get him." Said Cinder. The two took a step forward and open fired in the knight, unloading all of their clips. A cloud of smoke surrounded the knight.

"Right, now that that's settled, go collect him and we can be on our…" started Cinder before she starred in shock as the smoke cleared, before them stood the knight, not even a scratch on him, with his shield and sword still lowered and a light blue glow surrounding him.

"Oh, well then. Things just got interesting," said Cinder.

 _Okay Jaune, so much for the element of surprise. You can do this, just remember Pyrrha's training._ The world around Jaune blurred as he charged his targets. He sprinted forward and put his aura into his legs allowing him to jump high up into the air. Jaune brought his shield down, colliding with the ground sending a small shockwave causing Cinder and her cronies to jump back. Mercury was the first to strike, lunging at Jaune he flipped forward and brought his foot down. Jaune used his shield blocking his strike and pushing him up, setting him off balance. Mercury tried to counter by going into a back flip, but Jaune acted quicker and grabbed his other foot, and threw him right into Emerald. But instead of colliding with the Mocha skinned girl, he went right through her.

 _An Illusion_ , thought Jaune as he remembered Emerald's semblance. Before he got a chance to react he was blindsided by a barrage of punches that caused him to have to bring his arms up to defend against the onslaught. He quickly reached forward and managed to grab Emerald's head and bring it to his knee, stunning the girl. Before she got time to regain her bearings, Jaune spartan kicked her right into Mercury, just as he was getting up.

"Now then, that just leaves her," said Jaune as he turned to face Cinder.

"Well, well, well, Arc. I'm beginning to understand why my master wants you, but do you honestly think you can defeat me? Even your partner couldn't do that, and she was the best" Said Cinder.

"I don't expect to leave this place with my life," said Jaune as he began to twirl his sword. "But that doesn't matter now. No matter what happens, I have to try. And beside, if I do die, I get to see her again. Not to mention I didn't come alone, if I can just stay alive long enough, my team can come and help."

"Haha, do you really expect them to come and save your pitiful ass again after what they found out about you?" mocked Cinder.

"You underestimate our friendship. They might be mad now, but it's just because they felt very vulnerable after what happened to them. I know that no matter what, they will always have my back. Unlike your two cronies" Said Jaune.

"Oh Arc, you underestimate my apprentices." Said Cinder.

"What?" Jaune turned only to be tackled to the ground by Mercury. The surprise attack caused Jaune's sword to be knocked out of his hands. The boy pinned Jaune and began to reign down a flurry of punches on Jaune's face. But instead of trying to block any, Jaune just glared at Mercury as he continually connected punch after punch.

"What the fuck!" cried out Mercury in frustration as he continued to hammer Jaune's face. Jaune used his free hand to grab the collar of Mercury's shirt and deliver a powerful head butt. Mercury fell back, a large amount of his aura depleted. Jaune delivered a powerful right hook, knocking the boy off of him. Mercury just laid there, only thirty percent of his aura remaining. Jaune got up and looked to see the sprawled out form of Mercury. Just as Jaune got up, Cinder lunged forward and delivered a powerful punch, fueled by the power of the Fall Maiden. Jaune went flying back into the concrete wall. He bounced off, leaving an imprint of himself in the wall. Jaune shook his head and charged forward. Cinder created a black sword and charged forward as well. The two collided, with Jaune using his shield to block Cinder's sword. Jaune used his momentum from bringing his shield up to go into a spinning motion, and spin completely and bash Cinder in the side with his shield, sending her sliding.

Jaune collected his sword and made his way back towards Cinder. As he was making his way towards Cinder, Emerald lunged forward, using the blade parts of her weapon to attack with a x-scissor. Jaune went into a back-flip to avoid the attack. As he went back, he brought his foot up, hitting her in the jaw, knocking her onto her back. As Jaune landed on his feet, Mercury was suddenly upon him. Mercury didn't send Jaune to the ground this time, and instead continued to run, with Jaune being hunched over one of his shoulders. Jaune just punched his back, over and over again, taking one percent of Mercury's aura out with each power fueled punch. Jaune used the sharp end of his shield to deal one final blow to Mercury's back. Causing the boy to let him go, Jaune quickly landed on his feet and the two stared eachother down.

"Well Arc, you've gotten better, too bad your partner won't get the chance to see it." Said Mercury. The boy gave a laugh, "You know, I liked her. She had a nice pair of boobs." Jaune's eyes narrowed and his grip tightened, anger coursing through his body. "I would have loved a chance to play with them." Mercury said with a smirk.

"GRAHH!" cried Jaune out in anger as he sprinted towards Mercury. Jaune quickly brought his sword up and slashed Mercury across the chest. The sudden outburst surprised the boy, and he didn't have time to counter. Jaune quickly brought his sword back down and slashed him again. And then continued slash, again and again, and again. He soon became so engrossed in the attack he shut his eyes and screamed as he continued to slash Mercury repeatedly, his anger taking control. Until suddenly, he heard a shriek and felt something warm splatter across his face. Jaune opened his eyes in horror to see Mercury clutching his throat, blood running down his body. He looked over to see Emerald covering her mouth. Jaune looked down at his hands and sword to see blood dripping from them. He looked to see Mercury say with his last dying breath, "C-Cinder?" Jaune watched in horror as the life drained from Mercury as he fell to the ground, a look of terror still painted across his face.

"N-no" cried Jaune as he began to tremble. He fell to his knees and dropped his shield and sword and stared down at the lifeless form of Mercury. His spirit armor faded as he began to process what happened. In his anger he completely depleted Mercury's aura, but instead of stopping, continued his attack, killing the boy. Cinder leaned over and whispered something into Emerald's ear before she sautéed over to Jaune.

* * *

Ruby, Ren, and Nora stared at the screen in shock as they witnessed what Jaune had just done.

"J-Jaune?" uttered Ruby. Ren and Nora were too shocked for words. Suddenly, they saw Cinder pull something out of her pocket. It was her scroll, they saw her play with something on the screen before she suddenly turned and faced the camera, "Hello there Ruby and others. Now then," Cinder tapped something on her scroll and an alarm began to sound in the room RNR was in.

"Whats happening?!" cried out Nora as the room began to shake. Suddenly, they felt the room begin to lift up. Ren looked out the windows to make a stunning realization.

"We're flying away from the stadium!" Nora and Ruby looked out the portholes to see that they were indeed flying away from the coliseum.

"NO JAUNE!" screamed Ruby as they flew away from the young knight. Ruby turned to the screen and screamed, "TAKE US BACK!"

Cinder just laughed as she watched the Reaper scream on the live feed she had of the young protégé.

"Now now Ruby, you made your decision to split up, and besides, I thought he wasn't a real Hunter after all." With another tap of her scroll, the speakers in the coliseum began to blare what she yelled at Jaune earlier, _"Oh and how would you know? Why don't you leave the decision making to the real Hunters here."_ Jaune just continued to stare at the ground with soulless eyes.

"Though I suppose I should thank you and the other two, if it weren't for you, you never would have delivered Jaune here straight to me. This won't be our last encounter; I'll see you in Haven. But unfortunately, Jaune here won't be so lucky." With that she put her scroll back in her pocket. She walked over to Jaune and RNR watched as she grabbed his chin and looked into his eyes. What she did next made Ruby's blood boil. Cinder leaned in and planted a kiss on Jaune's lips. And Jaune, still didn't react, and just stared into nothingness. After she pulled back she took a step back and created a bow and fired an arrow into Jaune's chest. Ruby watched in absolute horror as she watched the life suddenly return to Jaune's eyes as the same look of terror came over his face similar to Pyrrha's when Ruby watched her die. Jaune fell forward to the ground, dead. The arrow coming out of his back as the ground forced it through his body. Cinder leaned down and picked Jaune's head up before turning his body to ash. Cinder turned and looked at the screen and gave it a wink before the screen went to static, leaving the three teens distraught.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ruby screamed in agony as silver streaks flew out of her eyes again.

"Ruby no!" cried out Ren as he shielded his eyes. But his cry fell onto deaf ears as the sliver light just intensified. It soon became so intense that all three teens became overwhelmed and fainted.

* * *

"GAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Pyrrha in pure agony as a green inferno engulfed her. Ozpin had to shield his eyes from the flames.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pyrrha was distraught. She just watched what was left of Team RNJR watch as their friend, and her love die before them.

"WAIT! IS HE GOING TO COME HERE? JUST LIKE US? I-I MEAN SHE DID THE SAME THING TO ME! SO DOES THAT MEAN HE'LL COME HERE?! TELL ME OZPIN! PLEASE! PLEASE TELL ME HE'LL COME BACK!" pleaded Pyrrha, tears streaming down her face like a river.

Ozpin just looked down in sorrow, "Pyrrha, I'm sorry, but, he's gone. Unlike Jaune she turned you to ash the moment before your death, but Jaune. He was already dead before she did it. Pyrrha, I-I'm so sorry," said Ozpin as he began to tear up. Pyrrha just shrieked in agony again, the green flames of despair once again igniting.

* * *

 **And that's the end of chapter 11. Sorry the delay of this, college and all that jazz. So, next chapter is going to be up some time in November. After that I'm going to go back to the formula of releasing a bunch of chapters all at once. When I do that it will be the rest of the chapters for this story, as I only have a handful chapters left to write and publish. So anyways, see you then. And also, Happy Halloween!**


	12. Aftershocks

Chapter 12:

 _A few hours later…_

Ruby slowly opened her eyes as she began to regain her senses. She slowly got up and struggled to get her balance. _What happened?_ She thought as she took in her surroundings. She saw Nora and Ren sprawled out on the floor of the escape pod. She slowly approached the door steel wall and saw that it had gone back into the ceiling once more. Outside Ruby could see a large city in the distance, Haven. Her more immediate surroundings comprised of a lush green meadow, with a large trail of dug up dirt. _We must have made that when we crashed after Cinder, after Cinder…_ thought Ruby as the events from the day before came flooding back to her. _J-Jaune_ , tears began to stream down Ruby's face as she remembered her fallen teammate. She hopped out of the pod and began to bawl.

"Jaune! I-I'm sorry! Its all my fault you're gone! It's all my fault!" Ruby cried to the Heavens above.

"R-Ruby?" asked Nora meekly. Ruby spun around to find Nora standing behind her, tears of her own. The two girls embraced eachother and wept. Ren soon awoke himself and mourning with the girls. After what felt like an eternity, Ren slowly regained his composure and said, "I'll message Team SSSN and tell them we're here." He wiped away a few tears and pulled out his scroll.

"I-I'm going to call Y-Yang," said Ruby. Ruby pulled out her scroll, hand shaking and dialed the number. She heard it ring before it went to Yang's voicemail.

"Y-Yang, i-its me, Ruby. I-I need to talk t-to you, p-please. Yang, J-Jaunes, Jaunes gone Yang! C-Cinder k-k-killed him. And its all my fault! I-its all my fault! H-he warned me it wa-was a trap and I, I wouldn't listen, and now he, hes gone! P-Please call be back Yang, I-I need my big sister right now!" cried Ruby into the device.

* * *

Yang was sitting on the couch watching a movie when she heard her scroll buzz. She looked and saw it was Ruby. A frown spread across her face. _Ruby, what the hell could you want?_ Yang reached to grab her scroll, but pulled her hand back at the last moment. _No, whatever it is, she can handle it on her own, she doesn't need me_ thought Yang as she turned her attention back towards the T.V, ignoring her younger sister's cry for help.

* * *

"They say that they'll be here in half an hour," said Ren as he got the text from Sun.

"O-okay," said Ruby as she started to dial in another phone number. She heard it ring twice before the owner picked up, "Ruby?!" cried out Weiss.

"W-Weiss!" cried Ruby.

"Ruby whats the matter, why are you crying?" asked a very concerned Weiss.

"Weiss, its all my fault! I-Its all my fault!" cried the reaper.

"Ruby, whats all your fault?! Please talk to me," said Weiss.

"Jaune's gone Weiss, he-hes gone!"

"He left you guys?! Seriously! The nerve, when I find him I'll," started Weiss before Ruby cut her off.

"N-No Weiss, he d-didn't leave, he, hes dead!" cried Ruby.

Weiss felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her. _Dead?_ Weiss didn't like Jaune the way he liked her, but she would still have considered him a friend. Sure he might have been really annoying at the beginning of the year, but after the dance he stopped his advances. He was still a kind and noble guy. "H-how did this happen?" asked Weiss, tears begging to form in her eyes.

"C-Cinder killed him. Sh-she set up a trap u-using the Vytal T-tournament Co-co-coliseum. We spit up, Jaune said we shouldn't have, bu-but I told him he sh-should leave the decisions to the real Hun-Hunters. Ci-Cinder tricked me, N-Nora and Ren to an escape pod, and and, killed Jaune. And, and, and, gaaahahah, aaaaahhhhhhh" wailed Ruby as she lost the ability to form cognitive words, grief overwhelming her.

"R-Ruby," stuttered Weiss as tears of her own began to roll down her face. It was in that moment that Weiss made a decision, "Ruby where are you?" asked Weiss sternly.

"W-wer'e at H-Haven," replied Ruby.

"Stay there, I'm coming to you." Said Weiss as she hung up the scroll. Weiss marched into her room and into her closet. She found her combat skirt and forced it on. Since she had gained some weight it did not fit as well as it use to, but she could still get into it. She then walked over and stared up at her weapon. With a nod she pulled it off of the plaque and holstered it. She knew that her father would kill her for what she was going to do, but she didn't care. He died in her eyes a long time ago, she had only one real family left now, Team RWBY. Weiss sent Blake a text hoping she would receive it, and sent Yang a similar one. Even if neither of them got it Weiss didn't care, her partner was hurting right now and all that mattered to her was getting to her now. Weiss felt a strange tingling sensation in her chest, _what is this? Nervousness, grief, sorrow? No, I know what this is,_ thought Weiss as she entered the air ship dock of her family's estate, _Love._

Weiss snuck over towards one of the many cargo ships. She knew that with her father shipping Dust to all four of the Kingdoms, one would be bound to go to Haven. After quickly finding a ship manifest, she snuck onboard to ship 28F. Weiss entered to see about ten large crates piled up in the back. Using her sword, Weiss quickly jammed it under the lid of one of the containers. She pushed down and the top opened. The Heiress looked inside to see the whole crate was filled to the brim with frost dust. Weiss pocketed some before she found a small space between two of the boxes to hide in. She checked her scroll for the time.

 _12:45, in fifteen more minutes the ship will be off and I'll be on my way to Haven._ Weiss though as she patiently waited for the cargo's departure.

* * *

"Weiss? Weiss?" asked Ruby as all she got was a dead line.

"What did she say?" asked Nora.

"S-she said she was coming to us," replied Ruby as she brushed the tears away.

"How?" asked Ren.

"I don't know," replied Ruby. Ruby and the others decided to wait around for Team SSSN to show up, using most of the time top continue to mourn their fallen teammate. Half an Hour later, a large truck pulled up, "Guys!" cried out Sun as he poked his head out the window, big smile across his face.

"Hello Sun," said Ruby somberly. Sun and the others quickly hopped out of the truck and greeted their friends.

"Its so good to see you guys!" said Sun as he had Ruby in a big hug.

"Hey, where is Jaune?" asked Neptune as he noticed the lack of a blonde. Ruby and Nora both began to cry again and Ren stepped forward and put his hand on Neptune's shoulder, "He didn't make it." Ren was holding back tears of his own.

"Oh, I'm, I'm so sorry you guys," said Neptune as he cast his head down. Even though he didn't know Jaune all that well, he considered him a friend after what he did to help him at the dance. Sure things may not have worked out between him and Weiss, but he still remembered the kindness Jaune was willing to show him.

"So, uh, how about we take you back to our place?" said Sage trying to change the subject.

"Sure," said Ruby as she and the rest of her team piled into the truck. Sun jumped into the driver's seat and the seven teens drove off.

* * *

Blake was jumping treetop to treetop. She had taken the train and continued to follow Adam's trail, it lead her to Mistral, Pyrrha's old home. Blake was unsure what Adam was up to, but what she did know that this was her best chance of catching him, and stopping him. Blake had finally reached her destination, a large White Fang camp located in the middle of the Mistral wilderness. She saw multiple airships, crates of dust, and enough tents to support an army. But the most important thing she saw was Adam, standing right in the center of camp.

 _I've found you at last_ thought Blake as she watched him from the shadows. She knew she would have to wait until nightfall to make her move, as attacking in broad daylight would be suicide. So she got herself comfortable. She pulled out her scroll and looked at the picture her team. _Soon you guys, soon_. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden notification. She saw it was a text from Weiss. She went to get rid of the notification and not read the message just like all the others her team had sent. But before she could she caught a glimpse of the text and saw the words _needs our help,_ and _is dead._

"What the hell?" asked Blake to herself as curiosity got the best of her and she decided to open the text. She nearly fell out of the tree after she read it.

 _Dear Blake, I understand that you may ignore this text just like my previous ones. But I hope that you will read this and come to your senses. Blake, Ruby needs our help. After the Fall (thought you may already know this) she and the remains of JNPR set out to try and find Cinder. They found her yesterday, but that is not the main reason she needs our help. Blake, Jaune is dead. Cinder killed him after she sprang a trap against them. Now if you want to keep running for whatever reason, go ahead, there is nothing I can do to stop you. But I urge you Blake, please come and help me. I have "arranged" for transportation to Haven, and I urge you do the same. I don't know why you decided to run, but Blake, this is bigger than us both, Ruby needs us, not only in strength, but spirit, it was her decisions that cost Jaune his life. So I again urge you Blake, please come and help me, I've sent a similar message to Yang, but have yet to get a response from her. I am going to Haven not matter what, but I would like for my friends to be with me._

 _Sincerely, Weiss._

 _J-Jaune is dead?_ Blake couldn't believe it. Though she was not the closet to him, she still considered him a valued friend. He was always kind, courageous, and humble. He even stood up for that Faunas girl Velvet, despite the bullying he endured. And then there was her leader, Ruby. The poor girl, if it really was her decision that killed Jaune like Weiss said, Blake knew the young girl would be beside herself. She looked back down at Adam and the rest of the White Fang, _I already lost one family, I won't lose one again_. Blake messaged Weiss, _I'll be there._ Blake hit sent and started to make her way towards the nearest village. Blake knew for a fact that there was a train station there, and figured she could use them to eventually reach Haven. It was seven miles away, but that wasn't going to stop the Cat Faunus. She was tiered of running away, this time she was going to chase down, and avenge her now two fallen friends.

* * *

Weiss felt her scroll vibrate. She carefully pulled it out of her pocket to see that Blake had finally responded. She could feel a tear roll down her check, _We'll be there soon Ruby, just you wait._

* * *

Team SSSN and RNR pulled into the drive way of a small house. It was located in the suburbs surrounding Haven Academy.

"Here we are! Home sweet home!" said Sun as he and the others got out of the truck. "Unlike Beacon, Haven Academy here has houses the students can stay in instead of just dorms. Come on, I'll show you guys around." Ruby Ren and Nora entered the house and were surprised to see it was surprisingly clean, despite Sun being one of its occupants. It was a small house, with a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and only one bathroom. After he gave them the tour, the seven all went to the living room. It had two couches and three chairs along with a large plasma TV, and a Zbox Game console. RNR took up one couch, with SSSN filling out the rest of the seating.

"So uh, if you guys don't mind me asking, what next?" asked Sun.

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby.

Sun scratched the back of his head, "Well, I mean now that you finally made it to Haven, what are you guys going to do now?"

Ruby just sat there, speechless. _What are we gonna do?_ "I-I don't know," was all Ruby could say. Ren and Nora were thinking the same thing, now that they had finally achieved the first part of their quest, what happens next.

Sun could tell he might have hit a nerve, "Well look, we got to go and do a few things, you guys are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need. There's food in the fridge and some blankets in the closet if you decide to take a nap. We'll see you guys tonight," said Sun as he and his team got up and awkwardly left their house. After they left, RNR sat there in silence for another ten minutes before Nora broke the silence, "So what are we going to do guys?"

Ruby faced Nora, trying and failing to hold back tears, "I-I don't know Nora." Ruby covered her face as she cried into her hands. Nora just joined her in crying as they sat there, not knowing that soon their lives would take another dramatic shift.

* * *

Yang was watching a movie when she heard her scroll vibrate. She looked over to see that this time it was Weiss, _huh, wonder what the Ice Queen wants?_ Yang debated whether or not to pick it up, but figured what harm would it do to just look at the message.

 _Dear Yang, I know we have not talked since the Fall. I do not know why you do not want to return my texts, but that doesn't matter Yang I am heading to Haven and I hope you will come as well. I've sent a message to Blake, but I will have to wait and see if she responds. Ruby needs our help. I'm sure she already called you, but I must urge to please join me in Haven. Whether you decide to come or not I'm going anyway.  
Sincerely, Weiss. _

_What the fuck?_ Thought Yang as she read the message. A sense of nausea came over her as she remembered that Ruby left her a voicemail. Yang went to go listen to it, hands trembling as she did so. She tapped the button and put the scroll to her ear, _"Y-Yang, i-its me, Ruby. I-I need to talk t-to you, p-please. Yang, J-Jaunes, Jaunes gone Yang! C-Cinder k-k-killed him. And its all my fault! I-its all my fault! H-he warned me it wa-was a trap and I, I wouldn't listen, and now he, hes gone! P-Please call be back Yang, I-I need my big sister right now!"._

Yang dropped the scroll, her skin going a ghostly white. A whirlwind of thoughts and emotions went through her, _Jaune's dead? They found Cinder. Is Ruby okay? How did this happen? Where is she? How did Jaune die? First Pyrrha and now this._ But one though stood out, _I wasn't there for my little sister_. Yang let out a scream as her eyes went red and her hair ignited. That flame that had all but been snuffed suddenly erupted back to life. Yang looked down at her scroll, determination in her eyes yet again. Yang pulled up a schedule for the local airport and found the first available flight out of Patch. Yang rushed to her room and put her combat gear on once again and re-equipped her gauntlets. Yang ran to her Dad's room and stole the money she would need to pay for the trip _, sorry Dad, but this is more important_. Yang made her way to the garage and pulled the cover off of an old friend. Yang jumped on her motorcycle and sped towards the airport, ready once again to bring the fight to Cinder.

* * *

Team RNR had been sitting there for about two hours now when suddenly Ruby's scroll began to ring. "Y-Yang?" said Ruby aloud as she reached for it. When she read the Caller I.D she screamed.

"Ruby what is it?" asked Ren. Ruby showed the scroll to him and his face dropped. It said she was receiving a call from Jaune. Ruby put it on speaker, "Jaune!?"

A feminine laugh was on the other line, "Oh no no no Ruby, did you forget about the show I put on yesterday?" asked Cinder.

"Cinder," said Ruby, venom dripping from her mouth and eyes beginning to dully shine.

"Hello there, I told you I would meet you again. Now then, I figured that we could settle this like women. Meet me at the old factory off Sullivan Road in the port section in three hours. We'll finish things there."

"How do I know this won't be a trap?" asked Ruby.

"You don't, but if you don't come, how else will you avenge your fallen teammate? Hahahah, I'll see you soon Ruby." The line went dead and Ruby instantly got up and retrieved her weapon. She looked over to see Ren and Nora do the same. They all gave eachother a nod before leaving SSSN's house. Before she left, Ruby left a note for SSSN. _We found her. It ends tonight._

* * *

Pyrrha was still crying, with the green flame still glowing strong. "J-Jaune" she murmured. She was lying in the fetal positions, eyes red and puffy.

Ozpin looked down at her with grief, _the poor girl_. Ozpin looked down at his hands, _this is all your fault William. There must be something I can do. Well, I could always… no I can't use that, no matter what, even if,_ though Ozpin as he looked over at the cradled form of Pyrrha. He then turned his attention to the orb in the center of the room. He got up and approached it. He put his hand on it and looked down to see the crying forms of Ren, Nora, and Ruby. He glanced one more look over to Pyrrha before he made up his mind.

 _No, I have to, for her, for Jaune, for all the others I let down._ Ozpin retreated back to his corner and began to meditate. He focused all of his aura to his hands. Even though he would not be able to use it to activate a semblance or attack, he was familiar with Salem's magic and powers enough to know that it would not be him using the aura. All he had to do was provide enough. Ozpin knew he would need just a little more time before he could spring his trump card, but he had to wait. He would only have one shot at this. If he messed it up now, he wouldn't be able to try again. He looked over at Pyrrha again, _soon child you shall be back with your friends, soon.  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 12! So I'm going to mix up my chapter releasing strategy. I'm going to release them two to three chapters at a time, until eventually I conclude the story. I should finish it around the end of February, but we'll see. Next chapter up tomorrow, and another one the day after that. So, I'll see you tomorrow.**


	13. The Battle of Queens

Chapter 13:

Ruby Ren and Nora now stood in front of the old factory Cinder had told them to meet at. It had taken them about two hours and forty-five minutes to reach it, but they were there now. Sullivan Road was an old dirt road that appeared not be used very often. It was created in the side of a cliff, with the factory being at the end. Down below the teen could see a grassy beach lining the water. There was about a twenty foot dirt cliff between the road and the beach. The factory itself was old and decrepit. It was made up of bricks and appeared to be about three stories high. It had two large smokestacks rising up from the roof, and large broken windows lining the side of it. It was suspended atop the water by large wooden poles that were clearly aging. The road it was located one was an old dirt road. The factory was placed off the side of it, with about a twenty foot drop from Earth to water, with the poles being what kept it level with the road.

The three teens all gave eachother a nod before readying their weapons and walked into the building. There were two large iron doors in their way. Nora charged forward and launched them of their hinges. The three entered to see two figures standing at the opposite end of the factory. The interior of the factory was worse that the outside. Rotting wooden floor planks lined it with holes revealing the water underneath. No longer where their large machines to manufacture goods, but now just a very large and open space. Above them were old iron raptors that ran along the walls of the factory, though some parts of it were collapsed.

"You're early," said Cinder with a smile. None of the teens gave her a response. "Oh, so is it the silent treatment now? Fine, Emerald kill those two, leave Rose to me," said Cinder as her eyes began to shine a bright orange. Ruby's eyes shone silver as she activated her semblance and rushed forward. She brought Crescent Rose up, connecting with Cinder sending her flying up into the wall. Cinder didn't even flinch as she slightly spun back, allowing her feet to hit the wall and shot forward full force back at Ruby. Ruby quickly got out of the way, with Cinder hitting the ground hard, cracking the wood sending small pieces up into the air. Cinder used the Maiden Powers to ignite the pieces and sent them flying at Ruby. Ruby used her semblance to dodge every single one of them until one nicked her foot causing her to go spinning into a wall.

Ruby quickly got back up on her feet and readied herself for an attack.

"Come now Ruby," said Cinder as she prepared for another attack, "Show me what you are made of!"

* * *

Nora flew up and smashed her hammer down against Emerald, only for the Mocha girl to shatter. Nora's hammer shot through the wooden planks leaving a hole. She quickly ripped her weapon out and spotted the girl again, charging forwards and swinging her hammer, only for the same thing to happen.

"Gah! Come face me you coward!" she screamed in frustration. Meanwhile Ren was firing shots at another illusion of Emerald when he suddenly felt something behind him. He quickly brought Stromflower up to block a hit from Emerald. The girl had a cocky smile on her face, "Well, you seem to be better than her."

Ren quickly slid his foot under Emerald knocking her up into the air. He then brought his weapon down, slamming her into the ground. Splinters flew as the girl collided with the ground. He went for another blow, only for Emerald to roll out of the way, lodging the blade part of his gun into the ground. Before he could pull it out, Emerald delivered a powerful kick to his head, sending him flying back, with one of his guns still lodged in the ground. Ren quickly got up and prepared to face her again, but was greeted by fifteen versions of her all running at him. The first one launched at him, forcing him to dodge. As they kept coming Ren continued to try and dodge. Some hits didn't affect him as they were just illusions, but others were Emerald herself landing in quick hits. Suddenly the two were engulfed in a pink cloud.

"Found you!" cried Nora as she came in spinning in a circle with her hammer out. Ren quickly dove out of the way with Emerald not being so quick and getting launched into a wall. Her other illusions shattered as she crashed into the brick. Her aura had taken a large blow, with Nora taking twenty percent of it with that hit. Emerald knew she was going to have to change her strategy if she wanted to win, and she would have to do it fast otherwise Nora and Ren would take out what small amount of aura she had left.

* * *

Ruby rushed at Cinder using her semblance to quickly pass by her and try and deliver a blow. But every time she did Cinder just blocked it. An idea popped into Ruby's head as she rushed at Cinder once more, but instead of trying to deliver a blow, Ruby shot her gun, slowing her momentum down. The sudden stop took Cinder by surprise and before she could counter, Ruby used the blunt side of her scythe to send the Fall Maiden flying up into the air. Before Cinder could stop herself, Ruby jumped up next to her and brought her scythe down slamming her into to the ground. Cinder hit so hard that she bounced up, wood planks helping to give her a boost. Ruby came spinning down and hooked her weapon around Cinder's frame and sent her flying into the wall. As Cinder crashed Ruby sped into her, launching forward and using both feet to send her crashing through the brick wall.

Ruby flashed a smile as she saw the Cinder shaped hole in the wall. But she knew the fight was far from over. Cinder came crashing through a window, eyes bright orange with orange wisps surrounding her as she levitated in. Cinder looked over to Emerald and got an idea. She quickly flew down to the girl and sent a shockwave to send Ren and Nora flying back. She quickly whispered into the girls ear the two suddenly vanished into a puff of smoke.

"Hey, whats the big idea?!" cried out Nora in protest with Ruby quickly running beside the two. Suddenly, they saw three figures emerge from the smoke. The three teen's hearts dropped as they were able to make out who they were. Before them stood three people that they though they would never see again, Pyrrha, Penny, and Jaune. But the big difference was that their eyes were pitch black with black tear trails underneath.

"Why?" asked the black eyed Pyrrha.

"Why did you abandon us?" asked the Penny.

"Did you just not care enough?" asked Jaune.

"No, they aren't real!" cried out Ren.

"Oh, aren't we?" asked the Pyrrha as she lunged forward and delivered a powerful blow to Ren sending him flying back. She quickly whirled around and used her spear to bash Nora in the side of the head sending her spinning across the ground.

Ruby readied her weapon preparing to block Pyrrha's attack. But before she could she was suddenly shield bashed by Jaune.

* * *

Ren quickly got up and looked to see the Penny rushing towards him, he open fired on it with his one remaining gun. After the bullets flew through her Ren was convinced that it was just an illusion and turned his attention towards Pyrrha. But before he could he suddenly felt something slug him over the back of the head. He rolled forward and quickly turned to see that it had come from the Penny illusion.

"How?" Ren said aloud. The Penny illusion conjured the original Penny's many swords and sent them flying towards Ren. Ren tried his best to doge and deflect them all, but some were real and some were fake, with Ren having no idea how to tell.

* * *

Nora got up and saw the Pyrrha illusion sprinting towards her. She quickly turned her hammer into its grenade launcher form and open fired. She couldn't tell from the cloud of dust, but she was sure that she had hit her. Then suddenly Pyrrha's shield came flying out of the smoke and hit Nora square between the eyes. While she was stunned, Pyrrha ran forward and grabbed Nora from behind delivering a powerful suplex. Nora lay sprawled out on the ground. A sinister grin appeared on the Spartan's face as she approached the fallen redhead, spear in hand.

* * *

Ruby was blocking every single shot the knight was delivering.

"Why'd you leave me behind Ruby!" Jaune cried as he delivered another powerful blow.

"I didn't!" cried Ruby, tears in her eyes as she deflected another blow.

"Yes you did! You killed me Ruby, it was all you!" cried the knight as he and the reaper locked weapons.

"I tried to save you! And Penny, Pyrrha! Everyone! I tried!" cried the small girl.

"You didn't try hard enough!" said the knight. Sparks began to fly as Ruby pushed with all her might as the knight.

"Face it Ruby, you're no Hunter. You're just a lost and scared little child!" said Jaune. Ruby just continue to stalemate with the knight as they pushed with all their force "First Penny, then Pyrrha and now me, when will your blood trail end?" Ruby's brow furrowed as she screamed in fury, eyes glowing a brilliant silver. The knight was taken off guard by the sudden outburst and his grip loosened on his weapon. Ruby shot forward catching him by the neck with Crescent Rose and used her semblance to dash forward.

* * *

Ren just jumped out of the way as another wave of swords flew at him. He looked over to see Ruby currently locking weapons with Jaune, he turned in horror to see Pyrrha approach the downed Nora spear pointed directly at her throat. Ren shot all of the swords above Penny's head before he quickly rushed over and fired some rounds to grab the Spartans attention. It worked as she turned towards Ren only to be quickly meet with a swift kick to the jaw, sending the girl back. Ren quickly got into a defensive position. The Spartan glared at him and charged forward. Ren tried to bring Stormflower up to block, but Pyrrha slid down at the last moment and delivered a powerful punch to his groin. Ren was shot up into the air from the blow. He landed hard on his back, clutching his bruised pride. He looked up in time to see a boot before it kicked him square in the face, sending him back into the wall. Ren laid there stunned as the girl picked him up by the collar and delivered a powerful haymaker, sending him skidding across the floor landing right next to his gun that was dug into the wood. As he collided, he could feel the last of his aura disappear as he laid there defenseless. Pyrrha walked over, cracking her knuckles, "Time to finish this."

"DON"T YOU TOUCH HIM!" screamed Nora. Pyrrha turned only to be met with a devastating swing from Nora's hammer. Sending her cascading into the wall. Nora rushed over to her fallen friend. "Renny, are you okay?!" she cried.

Ren gave a weak smile, "I've been worse." Suddenly both their attention was drawn to Ruby as she let out an unearthly cry. They turned to see Ruby dashing forwards with the Jaune in tow. She continued to scream as she used her semblance and weapon to dash forward and maximum speed and slam Jaune into the wall. With one last battle cry she brought her weapon up and stabbed the fallen knight in the chest. All of a sudden, a loud women's scream escaped the Jaune's lips as the illusion suddenly faded, with Ruby's blade being buried directly in Emerald's chest. Ruby looked up in horror as Emerald went limp. Ruby took a few step back, shaking so bad she was afraid she might puke. She sat there, motionless much like Jaune had.

Ren and Nora stared in horror after watching the young reaper kill the illusionist. Ren turned to see the Pyrrha illusion fade to reveal Cinder. He looked and saw the Penny illusion fade as well, leaving behind Cinder's black glass debris in the place of the swords.

Cinder smirked as she looked at the defeated young Huntress. "Now then, that just leaves you two," said Cinder as she turned towards Ren and Nora. A look of horror came over Nora's face as Cinder approached the two. She panicked and picked her hammer up and slammed it into the ground below her and Ren. She fired a grenade as she did so to maximize the hit.

"Nora no!" cried Ren in vein as the grenade detonated. The blast depleted Nora to the very last percent of her aura, and knocked Ren unconscious. The two fell into the icy water below. Cinder approached the hole and did not see either emerge from the water. She sent a large fireball in after the two and proceeded over to Ruby. "One more for the collection." The young girl just continued to stare at the lifeless corpse of Emerald. An orange aura surrounded Cinder as she approached Ruby. "Queen takes Queen," said Cinder.

* * *

Nora quickly surfaced and gasped for breath with Ren in her arms after she put a good hundred feet of distance between her and the factory. She put what little remained of her aura into her legs and used it to get as far away from the factory as quickly as she could. She looked behind to see the factory when suddenly a large orange light flashed through the window, and she could hear Ruby scream.

"I-I'm so sorry Ruby" Nora cried. She quickly shifted her attention to Ren and made a world shattering realization, he wasn't breathing. Nora swam as quickly as her legs could take her to the grassy beach that she and the others had passed earlier. Once there, she threw Ren on the ground and immediately gave him mouth to mouth. She continued for what felt like forever, but still wasn't getting any result.

"NO! PLEASE! I CANT LOSE YOU TO REN! I, I, I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!" the hammer wielder confessed as she brought her fists down on Ren's lifeless chest in agony. Suddenly the boy stirred back to life, coughing out the water in his lungs. "REN!" cried Nora as she quickly wrapped her body around the boy.

"N-Nora?" he asked weakly.

"REN I THOGUHT I LOST YOU!" cried Nora as she continued to wrap her body around the boy.

"I'm still here Nora, I'm still here," said Ren as he returned the hug. The two continued to embrace eachother for another few minutes before Nora quickly got off of him and sat on her knees, "Ren, theres, theres something I need to tell you." She said, not looking him in the eyes.

"What is it?" he asked sitting up himself, slightly grimacing in pain.

"Well, I, I. I thought I lost you there, and I realize that I never told you that I, that I," stuttered the redhead.

"That you what Nora?" Ren asked.

Nora quickly looked him in the eyes, face bright red with blush, "THAT I LOVE YOU!" she suddenly yelled. She immediately covered her mouth after the confession.

Ren's eyes were as wide as the moon. "You what? But what about what Incubus showed us! I thought you feared ending up with me!" Ren cried in shock.

"No that's not what that meant!" protested Nora. "I was afraid that we would only be friends and only that! Ren its my dream to be with you, but after what you saw and what I did, and the way I treated you, if you don't have feelings for me anymore then I would under-" rambled Nora before she was suddenly silenced by Ren kissing her. She felt her entire body go numb as he did so. Ren pulled back, cupping the side of her face with his hand, "Nora, I will always love you. No matter what." Said Ren.

Tears formed in Nora's eyes as she tackled Ren and began to plant a flurry of kisses on the boys face. Their moment of bliss was short lived as suddenly a black portal opened at their feet. The two instantly got to their feet and readied their weapons. They knew they had no aura left and whatever this was could easily kill them. They grabbed eachothers hands and were ready for what ever happened next. They could make out the blurry outline of a figure and mentally readied themselves for what may be their last fight.

* * *

Ozpin and Pyrrha watched as RNR approached the warehouse. Pyrrha still lightly crying. _No no no, I just need a few more minutes!_ thought Ozpin as he watched the sight before them. The two watched as the three hunters fought in vein. He could see Pyrrha wince as her friends were thrown about the factory. Suddenly, a large cloud of smoke appeared, but just then, Ozpin hit enough aura.

"Pyrrha, look at me," he said. Pyrrha turned and faced her Professor with a confused and sad look on her face.

"What is it?" she asked.

Ozpin looked down at his hands and gave a sigh, "When I say now, touch the orb, but not a moment sooner or later, understand?"

"Um, yes, but if I may ask," she started.

"No time!" Ozpin put both his hands on the orb and pushed all his aura into it. Pyrrha watched in awe as a green aura flowed off of him and into the ball.

"Stop right there!" cried Salem as she approached the door and began to open it. Ozpin let go of the orb, "NOW!" he screamed. Pyrrha quickly grabbed onto the orb just as Salem entered the room. Suddenly, she could see that green aura engulf her as she suddenly felt herself being sucked into the orb.

"No!" cried Salem as she sent an attack towards Pyrrha. Pyrrha closed her eyes and braced for the attack, but felt it pass right through her. She looked up one last time to see Ozpin smiling and Salem with death in her eyes before suddenly she was sucked into the orb. The moment she was, the orb turned into a pitch black rock and crumbled against the ground. Salem turned and faced Ozpin, "What the hell did you do?" she demanded.

"I fused my aura with your viewer. Since it was watching a one way feed, I just forced all my aura into it and turned it into," started Ozpin.

"A portal." Said Salem. Ozpin just tapped his nose to tell her she was right. A smile spread across Salem's face, "You do realize what that did though?" asked Salem.

"Of course I do." Replied Ozpin. "I no longer have any aura."

"Why?" asked Salem.

"Now why would I tell you. After all, that would ruin the surprise!" Salem delivered a brutal backhand to Ozpin and he just smirked as he wiped the blood away.

Ozpin maintained that smirk as he watched the Mistress of the Grimm go, knowing that while he may not have defeated her, this was defiantly a win.

* * *

 **Chapter 13. Next chapter will be up tomorrow. Sorry about the late time in updating this, I had some weird technical difficulties. Fixed in now, one more chapter up tomorrow.**


	14. Reunions

Chapter 14:

 _That night at the Coliseum…_

Cinder leaned over and whispered into Emerald's ear, "Create and illusion of me killing Arc just like I did Nikos, understand?" Emerald just nodded as Cinder sautéed over to Jaune. Cinder pulled out her scroll, tapped a few buttons and said, "Hello there Ruby and others. Now then," Cinder tapped something on her scroll and an alarm began to sound in the room RNR was in. She laughed as she watched the young Reaper scream in protest. "Now now Ruby, you made your decision to split up, and besides, I thought he wasn't a real Hunter after all." With another tap of her scroll, the speakers in the coliseum began to blare what she yelled at Jaune earlier, _"Oh and how would you know? Why don't you leave the decision making to the real Hunters here."_ Jaune just continued to stare at the ground with soulless eyes.

"Though I suppose I should thank you and the other two, if it weren't for you, you never would have delivered Jaune here straight to me. This won't be our last encounter; I'll see you in Haven. But unfortunately, Jaune here won't be so lucky." With that she put her scroll back in her pocket. She walked over to Jaune and grabbed his chin and whispered into his ear, "Welcome to the team," Cinder backed up and created a bow. But instead of launching a glass arrow, she launched a yellow arrow that created a net that formed around him. A sudden surge of electricity coursed through Jaune's body and knocked him unconscious. Cinder gave the camera a wink and killed the feed.

"Now then, go grab the stretcher and we can transfer him to Mistress Salem." Emerald quickly ran to the locker room and came back with the large Gurnee. The two strapped him in and Cinder pulled out a small orb from her pocket and said, "Mistress, it is done." She quickly got a response.

"Good work my Queen, opening the portal now," replied Salem. Just then, a black portal appeared before the two. Cinder grabbed the Gurnee and wheeled Jaune through. Emerald just gave one last look at the lifeless body of Mercury before stepping through the portal herself. _May Oum rest your soul_ she thought as she left his body, and the whole experience behind her.

* * *

Weiss could feel the ship begin to touch down. She quickly collected herself and waited patiently. She knew that the Haven Factory her Dad owned operated was on a skeleton crew. All she had to do was calmly wait for the pilot to leave and she would be able to casually walk out. After waiting a few minutes, she approached the door and forced her sword between the heavy metal door and the frame, forcing it to open. Weiss walked straight out of the hanger and to the street nearby. Before she landed she had called a Zuber to come and pick her up. She watched as a black car quickly approached her.

"Are you Yang Rose?" asked the driver.

"Yes," replied Weiss to her alias and got into the car. "The Haven airport please."

The driver just nodded and started to make his way towards the airport. _Time for phase two, meet Yang_.

Blake watched as the train slowly pulled into the Haven Train yard. Once it stopped the Cat Faunus quickly hopped of and started to make her way towards the large metropolis.

* * *

Yang looked out the window as she heard the pilot announce, "We'll be landing in Haven International Airport in about an hour."

She looked down at a picture of her and Ruby from when they were kids, _I'll be there soon sis_

* * *

Ren and Nora increased the grip on their weapons as the figure got closer. They watched as a female form appeared before them.

"You ready Nora?" asked Ren.

"Ready," she replied. The two pointed their weapons straight at the figure, and were shocked to see it was Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha?!" the two cried out in surprise.

"Ren! Nora!" Pyrrha cried as she rushed towards the two.

"Hole it right there!" cried Ren as he pointed his weapon at her.

"Guys?" asked Pyrrha as the portal disappeared behind her.

"How do we know its really you and not some trick?" he asked.

"No guys! Please! Its really me!" Pyrrha pleaded.

"Oh yeah? Prove it! Just before Jaune was going to ask Weiss to the dance, what did you ask me when he told you?" questioned Nora.

A blush started to creep up Pyrrha's face, "N-Nora please, don't make me," started the Spartan before Nora cut her off.

"ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION OR SO HELP ME OUM I WILL NOT HESITATE TO BLOW YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF! I'VE ALREADY LOST TWO FRIEDNS THIS WEEK, AND I AM NOT BE AFRAID TO KILL SOMEONE TRYING TO IMPERSINATE ONE!" Nora screamed, tears falling from her eyes.

Pyrrha held her head down in shame as she answered the question "I asked if the reason Jaune liked Weiss and not me was because my boobs were too big and if he liked flat chested girls." Pyrrha's face was a dark red with tears in her eyes as she recounted that moment.

"PYRRHA!" cried Nora as she tackled the fellow Red head and gave her a bone crushing hug. Ren quickly joined in as the two embraced their dead friend.

"But, how?" asked Ren, tears of happiness streaming down his face.

"When I fought Cinder she didn't really kill me, just teleported me!" replied Pyrrha.

"Wait! Does that mean that Jaune's alive to?!" asked Nora.

Pyrrha could feel her heart break again, tears forming in her eyes once more, "N-no Nora. S-she killed him before she turned him to ash."

"Wait? How did you know that?" asked Ren as his hand slowly went towards his weapon. Pyrrha recounted to the two how she had watched all of their ordeals through an orb that Salem had made. She talked about when they faced Lilly, and Lucius, and all the other struggle they faced.

"Hey, where is Ruby?" asked Pyrrha. A frown formed across Nora's face, "Cinder got her."

"Oh," said Pyrrha. She Ren and Nora all began to cry once more as they mourned the loss of yet another friend.

* * *

Ruby blinked as she began to regain her senses, "Uh, what happened?"

She looked around to find himself in a purple stoned room. In front of her was a large steel door, in the center of the room was two large lever.

"Ruby! You're awake!" cried a male voice. Ruby's eyes lit up as she recognized it, "JAUNE!" she cried out. She quickly turned to her right to see the knight tied up to a silver chair, with a large pit of black goo directly behind him. She tried to move to embrace the boy but found she was in a similar situation.

"Yo-you're alive!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Of course I am, what made you think otherwise?" he asked.

"W-we watched you die! Cinder shot you in the heart, just like Pyrrha!" Ruby exclaimed.

"What? Wait, are we dead?" he asked.

"No, but you will soon wish you were," responded a voice from the shadow. The two turned to see Salem emerge from a dark corner of the room.

"Salem," the two spit out.

She just flashed them a smile and approached the center of the room, "Hello there children." She looked directly at Jaune, "I told you I would come to you," said Salem, a small grin painted across her face. Jaune gulped as he felt chills go down his spine.

"Where are we!?" demanded Ruby.

"You're new home," responded Salem.

"W-what?" said Jaune as an uneasy feeling came over him.

"Do you two know what is currently behind you?" asked the Mistress of the Grimm.

The two looked back at the goo. The closest thing that Jaune could describe it as was tar. "That children is Grimm essence. The very life blood of the Grimm. It is were Grimm come from, and where you are going."

"Wait WHAT?" the two cried out in unison. Salem pulled one of the levers and Jaune suddenly fell into the black substance.

"JAUNE!" Ruby screamed in horror as she watched her best male friend fall into the goo.

Jaune could feel it on his skin. Every pore in his body screamed in pain as he felt the liquid push into his skin and crawl underneath it. He screamed in pain, but it only came in the form of bubbles slowly popping on the surface. Without thinking, he breathed in to replenish the lost air, only for the Grimm Essence to fill his lungs. He coughed it out, but much like a cough he instinctually breathed back in. He could feel the heavy liquid move around his lungs. Suddenly, he was pulled back out. He coughed out the liquid and breathed in air again.

Ruby looked at him, pure terror on her face, "J-Jaune?" she asked meekly. Jaune slowly turned his head towards her and saw the look on her face.

"Ruby, whats the matter? Why are you looking at me like that?" asked the knight, panic in his voice.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" said Salem. With a wave of her hand, a large mirror was conjured before him. Jaune looked into it in horror to see that his skin had become significantly lighter. His hair no longer shone a bright blonde, but rather now a dull brown. His eyes were no longer a bright blue, but now a mix of blue and violet.

"What, what did you do to me?" he asked in horror.

"I think you meant to say us," said Salem before she pulled the other lever, sending Ruby into the liquid now.

"NO! RUBY!" Jaune cried out in vein as he watched air bubbles rise from the pit. Shortly after the young girl reemerged facing a very similar fate. Her hair no longer held a slight red tine but was now pitch black. Her pale skin now snow white, with a few black veins on her face. Her eyes now longer a brilliant silver, but now a dull pink. The Reaper coughed out what she could before looking into the mirror.

"What are you doing to us?" cried Ruby, tears again streaming down her face.

"Well, you two killed Cinder's apprentices; I find it only fair you fill their roles." Said Salem. Before either could protest, Salem pulled both levers and sent them into the Grimm Essence again. After about a minute she pulled the two out again, their appearances becoming more and more like hers. She just smiled as she pulled the lever again, not even allowing them to catch their breath. Salem continued this for the night, until eventually; I wasn't the Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose their friends and family knew that emerged from the vat…

* * *

Pyrrha slowly opened her eyes as the sun began to shine over the horizon. She wiped the sand out of her eyes as she looked at the passed out forms of Ren and Nora. _We must have fallen asleep_ thought Pyrrha. She smiled as she felt the sun's rays shine on her. _Heat, real heat_. She had not felt that in months. Nora stirred next to her and slowly got up as well. Pyrrha stretched her arms and yawned as she began to fully wake up. Nora and Ren quickly joined her.

"So what now?" asked Ren. Nora and Pyrrha both stared at the boy, _hes right, what now?_ Thought Pyrrha. Now that she was back what did she do? She was alive, but what good was it without Jaune? She might as well be dead since he was gone. Tears began to form in her eyes once more.

"Well, we could always go back to Team SSSN's house," suggested Nora.

"That may be the best course of action," said Ren as he slowly got up. Nora quickly joined him and the two helped Pyrrha up as they began to make their way back to their friends house, not knowing just what the future would hold.

* * *

Weiss tapped her foot impatiently as she waited in the terminal for Yang. She had been there for the better part of six minutes and was growing very impatient. _Where is that dunce?_ She thought. Suddenly she heard someone cry, "Ice Queen!" before quickly being tackled by the blonde in question.

"Gah! Yang! Get off me!" the heiress cried as the brawler embraced her. She tried to push Yang off, and much to her surprise, she was able to. _What he heck?_ Once she looked at Yang she quickly discovered why, "Yang! What happened to you! You look like a skeleton!" she cried.

Yang shot back and angry glare, "You're one to talk! You look like you ate a whole Thanksgiving dinner !" protested Yang.

"You wanna go Xiao Long?! Because I'm pretty sure if I blew hard enough you'd fly away!"

"Please, even if you _Schnee-zed_ you wouldn't have the stamina!" The two girls budded heads, sparks flying between the two until…

"I've missed you so much!" cried out Yang.

"Me to!" cried Weiss as the two embraced a teary hug. Everyone in the airport just looked at the two. After about a minute of hugging, Weiss broke it off and said, "C'mon, lets go get Blake."

"Wait! You found her!" cried Yang in shock.

"Not necessarily, she just told me to met her at a certain location," said Weiss. She looked down at her scroll, "We better hurry or we'll be late!" The heiress quickly began to run to the exit.

"Same old Weiss," said Yang with a smile as she picked up her bags and quickly ran after her.

* * *

Ren Nora and Pyrrha finally arrived at SSSN's house after about three hours of walking. As they approached it, they noticed that Sun's truck was not in the driveway.

"Huh, guess they must still be out," said Ren. The three teen made their way in, with Pyrrha immediately falling on the couch, exhaustion getting the better of her. She instantly fell asleep on the soft piece of furniture. After sleeping on a cold stone floor for the past months, this was a huge upgrade. Nora put a blanket over her and joined Ren in the kitchen. She saw him looking down at a note.

"It would appear that they didn't come home last night. Ruby's note was untouched." Said Ren. Nora felt a pain in her chest as she remembered the young Reaper and how she abandoned her. Ren noticed and quickly embraced her in a hug, "It's okay Nora, theres nothing you could have done. She would have killed both of us if not for your quick thinking." Comforted Ren.

"Then why do I still feel guilty," asked a teary eyed Nora.

"Would Pancakes make you feel better?" asked Ren. Nora just looked up and shook her head with a meekly smile. Ren gave her a quick peck on the lips and touched the top of her nose, "Boop." Nora just giggled as Ren made his way towards the cupboards to prepare the meal.

* * *

Blake was sitting on a park bench, reading a book as she waited for Weiss and Yang. She had chosen a large public park near Haven Academy. Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of someone shouting. She looked up to see Yang running full speed at her, eyes red and hair ignited.

"BLAKE!" she screamed as she barreled towards the Faunus. Yang went to tackle the girl, but went right through her and crushed the bench. She quickly got up and saw Blake standing with a look of shock on her face, "Now Yang please, I" started Blake before Yang charged at her again, only to be met with the same result. Just as Blake was about to create another copy, she felt an extreme cold around her feet. She looked down to see Weiss had used a ice glyph to freeze her in place. The Heiress just huffed with her hand on her hip as she glared at Blake. Blake looked over to see Yang had gotten back up and was breathing heavy as she slowly approached the girl.

"Yang, please, I just want to say," started Blake before Yang suddenly brought her into a bear hug, "WHY?!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Why did you abandon me?"

Blake looked down to see Yang clutching her tight, "I, I though you wouldn't want to see me." Said Blake with her head down.

"What would ever compel you to think that!?" demanded Yang as she held Blake tighter.

"It, it was my fault you lost your arm! My fault that the White Fang attacked! I didn't want to bring you any more harm," said Blake, tears of her own now. Yang let go of Blake and cupped both her cheeks in her hands, "You listen to me now, nothing, and I mean nothing! Will ever make me hate you! Don't you ever do something like that again! Got it?"

Blake just shook her head before Yang embraced her once more.

"Ahem," interrupted Weiss. Yang and Blake both turned to Weiss, "Blake I don't know what would make you think we would ever dislike you, do this again and we may just have a reason." Said the Heiress coldly.

"I-"started Blake before she was cut off by a hug from Weiss. "It's good to see you." Blake just gladly returned the hug. RWBY was nearly reunited, all that was left was their leader.

"I'll give Ruby a call," said Yang and she pulled out her scroll and walked off a little bit to get some silence while Blake and Weiss caught up.

"Blake have you been sleeping at all? You look like a ghoul," said Weiss as she observed the heavy bags under Blake's eyes.

"I've been sleeping when I can," replied Blake. Weiss was going to interject more when Yang suddenly came back, "Guys, she not answering her scroll."

"What?" said Weiss as she pulled her scroll out and dialed Ruby's number. After it rang a few times it went to her voicemail message.

"Guys, why isn't she answering?!" asked Yang, panic beginning to set in.

"Hang on," said Weiss as she dialed in Ren's number. _If his scroll is off to then maybe they are all just busy_ thought Weiss.

"Hello?"

"Ren!"

"Weiss?"

"Yeah its me! Ren where is Ruby? Why isn't she picking up her scroll?" asked Weiss.

After a brief moment of silence Ren responded, "Weiss, where are you?"

"I'm at Light Park with Blake and Yang. Ren whats going on? Is Ruby okay!?"

"Weiss, I'm going to text you Team SSSN's house address. You guys are near by. Get here as soon as you can, I would rather tell you in person than over the phone." Said Ren as he hung up.

Weiss looked up at Yang and Blake, looks of distress painted across their face. Weiss felt her scroll vibrate as Ren gave her the address. She quickly punched it into her map app and the three teens ran as fast as they could towards the house.

* * *

Ren wasn't lying when they said they were nearby, they were just three blocks away. The three girls quickly approached the door with Yang smashing her fists into it.

"OPEN UP!" she screamed. Just as she was about to break down the door, Nora opened it up.

"Hey guys," she said weakly, with her head held down. The three quickly rushed inside.

"Ruby!"

"Ruby?!"

"Ruby are you in here?" they cried out as they quickly spread out through the house.

"Guys, in here!" cried out Ren. The three quickly rushed into the kitchen and saw Ren standing there, apron on and hands behind his back.

"Ren! Wheres Ruby!" pleaded Yang, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"You guys may want to sit down," said Ren somberly. The girls hearts dropped as they heard this.

"No," said Weiss as tears began to stream down her face as she Blake and Yang all pulled up a seat, legs feeling numb.

"There is no easy way to say this. I'm so very sorry you guys, but Ruby's gone." Said Ren. Weiss finally broke and began to bawl, holding her head in her hands as the tears cascaded down her face.

"W-what happened," asked Yang with tears of her own.

Ren hesitated for a moment before he took a deep breath and continued, "Last night Cinder used Jaune's scroll to challenge us to a fight. We meet her at an old factory in the port district. There Cinder and Emerald were waiting for us. We fought as hard as we could, but then Emerald created an illusion, and it all went wrong."

"Wait, what about her other apprentice, Mercury?" asked Blake.

"Jaune killed him two days ago, during his fight in the coliseum." Answered Ren.

"What!?" all three girls called out.

"Jaune killed someone!?" asked Weiss in shock.

"He didn't mean to, it just happened," said Nora as she entered the kitchen and took a seat on the counter.

"And it happened again last night." Said Ren. The other girls just looked at Ren, eyes wide with shock. "Emerald created an illusion of Penny, Pyrrha, and Jaune. I fought Penny, Nora fought Pyrrha, and Ruby fought Jaune. I don't know what she said or did, but Emerald made Ruby snap. Ruby lashed out, and in her attack, killed Emerald." Yang only gasped. She knew how guilty she felt after she "broke" Mercury's leg, but Ruby, Ruby had taken a life. Something that could not be reversed.

"What happened after that?" asked Weiss.

Ren turned and looked at Nora. She just nodded," Well, after she had killed her the illusion faded. Cinder had knocked out the last of Ren's aura, and Ruby was just sitting there, motionless staring at Emerald's body. Then she came for Ren, and, and," stuttered Nora as tears began to form. "I panicked. C-Cinder was coming for us, and I, smashed a hole in the ground. W-we fell into the water and were able to escape, but Ruby, Ruby," started Nora.

"RUBY WHAT!" screamed Yang as she stood on her feet, eyes red from crying and her semblance.

"I saw a bright orange flash, and heard her scream and, and" Nora couldn't finish the sentence and put her head on Ren's chest and began to sob. Ren turned and faced the three remaining members of Team RWBY. "I'm so sorry you guys." He just bowed his head as WBY lost any composure they had left. Ren nudged Nora and tilted his head towards the living room. Nora got the message and the two left WBY to grieve in peace in the kitchen.

As they entered the living room, they saw Pyrrha sitting on the couch, "Are they gonna be okay?"

"I don't know. But lets wait until they calm down a little before we tell them how you came back." Said Ren. Pyrrha only nodded in agreement.

 _A couple of hours later…_

Weiss Blake and Yang had finally calmed down a little, meaning that they had run out of tears for the time being. Ren poked his head into the kitchen, "you guys alright?"

Yang just glared at him, "What do you think?"

"Well look, there was one other thing that happened last night," said Ren as he fully entered the kitchen. "We just wanted to wait until you guys were a little calmed down before we showed you. Come on in," Ren called to the living room. Pyrrha nervously walked into the kitchen, "Hi guys."

Weiss only blinked before she quickly drew her weapon, "This can't be real!" Balke quickly followed her lead, "Ren this must be some sort of trick.

Ren quickly stood in front of the Spartan, "Guys, guys its not trick. Trust me, me and Nora thought the same, but it's her, it's really her!"

"How?" asked Yang as she too got into a battle stance. Pyrrha explained her whole ordeal and how she was kept by Salem in a prison cell and watched RNJR.

"Wait, who is Salem?" asked Blake.

"Alright, you guys may want to sit down again, this is a long story," said Ren as he began to tell them the entire journey RNJR had been through.

* * *

 **Chapter 14! So like I said before, mixing up the realizing style. I'll be releasing two or three chapters sometime in December, probably in the later portion of the month, but I'll have to see how college goes. And yes, Jaune and Ruby are not dead, though with how they will look one might think they are.**


	15. NOT A CHAPTER

**Not a chapter. For whatever reason the new chapter is not being recognized as an updated chapter, so hopefully this will spark it. Or not and it will just be a pointless waste of time (we shall see!) Next real chapters up sometime near the end of December**


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